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I 


THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

A    ROMAN     FAMILY    UNDER    NAPOLEON. 
1796— 1815 


The  Marchesa  Maddalena  Patrizi,  in  compiling  these 
Memoirs,  had  but  one  end  in  view,  that  of  making  the 
subjects  of  them  known  to  their  direct  descendants.  It 
was  far  from  her  thoughts  to  give  the  work  to  the 
public  ;  one  hundred  copies  only  were  printed.  One 
was  offered  to  our  Holy  Father,  Pius  X  of  Blessed 
Memory,  and  in  a  private  audience  granted  to  the  writer 
ft'he  expressed  the  very  great  pleasure  which  the  perusal 
of  the  Memoirs  had  afforded  him. 


•  •  ?  -    • 


THE    MARCHESA    CUNEGONDA    PATRIZI 


THE 

PATRIZI     MEMOIRS 

A   ROMAN   FAMILY  UNDER   NAPOLEON 
1796— 1815 


BY 

THE  MARCHESA  MADDALENA  PATRIZI 


TRANSLATED   BY 

MRS.   HUGH   ERASER 

AUTHOR    OF    "ITALIAN     YESTERDAYS"     ETC. 
WITH  AN   HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION   BY 

J.   CRAWFORD   ERASER 


Seventeen  Illustrations 

including 

A  Frontispiece  Portrait  ifi  Colours 


LONDON 
HUTCHINSON   AND   CO. 

PATERNOSTER  ROW 
1915 


'y> 


&^ 


\7o 


.-A 


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AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

TO   MY   CHILDREN 

I  HAVE  collected  these  Memoirs  for  your  sakes  and 
in  response  to  a  wish  repeatedly  expressed  by  your 
father.  In  calling  up  the  serene  and  strong  per- 
sonality of  your  great-great-grandfather,  and  the  very 
sweet  one  of  her  who  was  his  faithful  and  valiant 
companion,  I  have  felt  that  I  was  affectionately  carry- 
ing out  a  task  of  true  filial  piety. 

It  has  also  been  very  welcome  to  me  to  offer  to  their 
memories  a  homage  which  was  denied  in  their  life- 
time, the  admiration  which  their  heroic  fortitude 
inspired  in  a  relative  of  my  own  mother,  that  same 
Count  de  Tournon,  Prefect  of  Rome,  whom  they 
believed  to  be  one  of  their  enemies.  Having  at  my 
disposal,  through  the  courtesy  of  his  descendants,  all 
his  private  papers,  I  have  been  able  to  realise  how 
unwillingly  he  executed  the  imperial  orders  and  how 
earnestly  he  strove  to  mitigate  their  severity.  I 
have    carefully  confronted  his  documents  with    our 

V 

336609 


vi  AUTHOR'S   PREFACE 

own  archives  and  the  very  abundant  ones  furnished 
to  me  by  the  State  Papers  in  France. 

As  you  will  see,  there  is  little  of  my  own  in  the 
book.  1  have  limited  myself  to  correlating,  with 
scrupulous  exactness,  the  testimony  of  contem- 
poraries, in  the  hope  of  making  you  love  and 
venerate  your  ancestors  as  we  have  loved  and  vener- 
ated them.  My  earnest  desire  is  that  they  may 
obtain  for  their  descendants  that  which  they  possessed 
— the  Faith  which  no  storm  of  impiety  can  shake, 
no  suggestion  of  indifference  weaken,  and  the 
Strength  which  maintains,  at  any  cost,  the  accord- 
ance of  the  principles  of  conscience  with  the  actions 
of  life,  that  Strength  which  I  venture  to  call  the 
point  of  honour  of  the  Christian's  existence. 

Your  Mother. 
December  191 1. 


TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE 

//  was  towards  the  mellow  end  of  a  June  afternoon. 
We  had  been  out  to  the  **  Castello  di  Constantino  "  and 
had  sat  silently  gazing  at  the  wonderful  panorama  of 
the  ancient  city  spread  out  at  our  feet.  New  Rome 
seemed  to  have  vanished^  and  it  was  the  Rome  of  the 
Ccesars  that  stretched  before  us^  rising  in  tier  upon  tier 
of  arches  and  terraces^  with  the  pines  and  cypresses  of 
countless  gardens  serving  as  dividing- lines  and  back- 
ground. The  low  sunshine  lay  in  a  wash  of  red  gold 
on  all  the  ruined  glory ^  and  far  away  the  Sabines  were 
turning  to  amethyst  under  the  tender  blue  of  the  evening 
sky, 

"  Let  us  go  now  that  it  is  at  its  hest^""  said  Donna 
Maddalena  ;  **  /  have  something  that  I  want  to  show 
you  at  home,'""  So  we  drove  down^  down  through  the 
winding  streets  that  have  never  changed^  to  the  old 
Palace  opposite  the  Church  of  San  Luigi  dei  Francesi, 
I  had  not  been  to  the  house  for  many  years^  and  when  I 
was  last  there  the    head  of  the  family^   my  friend's 


viii  TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE 

father-in-law^  still  reigned  autocratically^  as  his  fathers 
had  done  before  him,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the 
old  regime^  and  resisted  innovations  and  renovations 
with  the  inherited  prejudice  of  centuries.  When  he 
died  it  was  tacitly  agreed  in  the  family  that  the  old 
regime  was  to  be  buried  with  him,  as  a  relic  no  longer 
in  place  above  ground^  though  ever  to  he  remembered 
ypith  respect.  Light  and  air,  comfort  and  convenience y 
and,  above  all,  that  quantum  of  individual  liberty  with- 
out which  thinking  people  of  to-day  cannot  live — these 
came  flooding  into  the  dark  old  house,  and  have  made 
it  a  dwelling  where  all  seems  peace  and  light.  It  was 
very  strange  to  me  to  be  shot  upstairs  in  an  automatic 
lift  instead  of  climbing  the  long  flight  of  stone  steps  that 
I  remembered ;  to  find  myself  walking  over  polished 
parquets  instead  of  over  the  red  brick  or  marble  of  the 
older  day :  and  some  of  the  ancestral  portraits  seemed  to 
me  to  have  taken  on  a  slightly  disapproving  expression. 
But  the  tenets  and  principles  of  conduct  have  not 
changed.  Every  member  of  the  family  would  now  fight 
for  them  as  resolutely  as  its  ancestors  did,  and,  since  the 
story  of  their  most  famous  fight  is  one  which  is  being 
repeated  all  over  the  world  to-day  by  parents  who 
insist  upon  giving  their  children  a  Christian  education, 
the  relation  of  their  struggle  is  a  matter  which  will 
interest  many  and  perhaps  inspire  courage  too. 


TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE  ix 

^he  opening  of  the  story  has  another  interest,  all  its 
own — that  of  presenting  an  unusually  faithful  picture 
of  conditions  in  Roman  social  and  family  lifcy  which  have 
passed  away  as  completely  as  those  of  the  first  ages  of 
Christianity,  although  but  a  scant  hundred  years  have 
elapsed  since  the  Marchese  Francesco  Patrizi  was 
banished  from  his  home  and  obliged  to  report  himself 
once  a  week  to  the  Police  in  Paris ;  since  his  son, 
Giovanni,  was  imprisoned  in  the  Chateau  d'lf  for 
refusing  to  hand  over  his  children  to  Napoleon  to  be 
brought  up  at  the  Military  School  of  Prytanee  de  la 
Fleche — since  Giovanni  s  royal  wife  was  driven  over 
the  Alps  with  her  two  little  boys  and  also  forced  to 
report  herself,  like  a  convict  under  vigilance,  to  the 
-police  in  Paris.  It  was  the  royalty  that  aroused  the 
worst  hatred  of  the  Emperor,  Ihe  cousin  of  Louis 
XVI,  the  gentle  lady  who  had  never  spoken  an  unkind 
word  in  her  life,  but  who  would  have  gone  to  the 
scaffold  a  hundred  times  over  for  her  children's  salva- 
tion, was  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  him  whom  her  descen- 
dants still  call  **  the  parvenu " ;  and,  whereas  the 
persecution  of  other  recalcitrants  was  left  to  his  officials. 
Napoleon  seems  to  have  made  that  of  the  Patrizi  family 
his  personal  affair.  It  is  a  sad  and  ungrateful  task  to 
have  to  record  the  baser  characteristics  of  one  whom 
many  consider  the  greatest  of  men,  but  the  principles  at 


X  TRANSLATOR'S   PREFACE 

stake  on  one  side^  and  the  guiding  motive  on  the  other, 
enter  too  largely  into  modern  life  to  permit  of  their  being 
glossed  over  or  forgotten. 


In  preparing  this  book  for  the  English-speaking 
Public  the  translator  has  kept  to  the  literal  text  of  the 
letters  and  diaries.  In  the  narrative  portions  the 
material  has  occasionally  been  condensed,  and  some 
necessary  notes  and  elucidations  have  been  added,  as 
well  as  an  historical  introduction.  Apart  from  these 
details  the  book  is  entirely  the  work  of  the  Marchesa 
Maddalena  Patrizi.  The  documents  cited  were 
collected  by  her  through  a  long  period  of  industrious 
research  both  in  France  and  Italy,  and  were  printed 
in  the  "  Memorie  di  Casa  Patrizi,''  for  family  circu- 
lation only,  /«  1911.  In  the  present  work  they  are 
offered  to  the  public  for  the  first  time. 

MART  CRAWFORD  FRASER. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Author's  Preface v 

Translator's  Preface vii 

Historical  Introduction i 

CHAPTER   I 

Th^  Marriage  of  Giovanni  Patrizi  and  Cunegonda 
OF  Saxony — The  Story  of  the  Bride's  Family 
— Her  Early  Years  in  France — Domestic 
Conditions  in  the  Life  of  the  Roman  Aris- 
tocracy        ........      35 

CHAPTER   H 

Pius  VH  and  Napoleon — The  Emperor's  Aspira- 
tions— The  Abduction  of  the  Pope — The 
Golden  Levy  and  its  Effect  on  the  Patrizi 
Family 52 

CHAPTER  in 

The  Marchese  Giovanni  resists  the  Decree — In- 
effectual Efforts  of  the  Prefect  to  obtain 
his  Submission — He  refuses  to  give  up  his 
Children 75 


PAGE 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Blow  Falls — Arrest  and  Abduction  of  Gio- 
vanni Patrizi  —  He  is  conveyed  to  Civita 
Vecchia  and  imprisoned  in  the  Fort,  where 

HE   FINDS   MANY   FrIENDS   AND   ACQUAINTANCES      .         89 

CHAPTER  V 

Extracts  from  the  Marchese's  Journal — His  Ex- 
periences AT  Civita  Vecchia — The  Beginning 
of  the  long  Correspondence  between  him  and 
HIS  Wife — His  Departure  for  an  Unknown 
Destination 104 

CHAPTER   VI 

Napoleon's  Personal  Hostility  to  the  Patrizi 
Family — He  orders  the  Sequestration  of 
their  Revenues — Giovanni's  Journey  to  Fene- 
STRELLE — Hopes  and  Fears  in  Rome         .        .121 

CHAPTER  VII 

Cunegonda  leaves  Rome  to  conduct  her  Children 
TO  France— Pippo's  Diary  of  the  Journey — 
The  Sojourn  in  Siena — The  Order  of  Malta 

AND  THE  BaILLI  RUSPOLI 150 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Difficulties  of  Cunegonda's  Position — Her  Cor- 
respondence WITH  her  Husband  is  strictly 
censored  —  Her  Departure  from  Siena — 
Letters  from  the  Boys  to  their  Father        .     171 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER   IX 

PAGE 

CUNEGONDA    IN    TURIN — HeR    FRUITLESS    EFFORTS   TO 

OBTAIN  Permission  to  visit  her   Husband  at 
Fenestrelle — A  Sad  Journey  across  the  Alps     194 

CHAPTER  X 

Giovanni's  Secret  Correspondence  with  his  Wife 
is  discovered  by  the  Police  and  results  in  his 

BEING  removed  TO  THE  ChATEAU  d'If  AND  PLACED 

under  close  Surveillance — Treachery  of  his 
SUPPOSED  Friend,  Carminati        ....     207 

CHAPTER  XI 

CUNEGONDA    ARRIVES    IN    PaRIS — PiPPO   DESCRIBES   HIS 

Impressions — The  Whereabouts    of    Giovanni 

KEPT     secret     from     HIS     FaMILY — He     IS      NOT 

allowed  to  have  any  News  of  them — Cune- 

GONDA    IS    OBLIGED     TO    TAKE     THE    BOYS     TO    La 

Fl^che  UNDER  Military  Escort  .        .        .        .224 

CHAPTER  XII 

Life  at  La  FlIlche — The  "  New  Concordat  " — The 
Emperor  and  the  Pope — Bonaparte's  Treachery 
— Letters  to  Giovanni  from  his  Father — 
Death  of  the  Marchese  Francesco  Patrizi    .     245 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Visitors  at  La  FLt:cHE — Reunion  of  Cunegonda 
AND  her  Sisters — Weary  Waiting — A  Ray 
OF  Hope  —  The  Beginning  of  the  End  — 
"Alleluia!" 268 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIV 

PACK 

The  14TH  OF  February,  18 14,  at  the  Chateau  d'If — 

Liberty  at  Last — Giovanni's  Return  to  Rome    286 

CHAPTER  XV 

Cunegonda  and  her  Sons  in  Paris — Xavier's  De- 
scription OF  Events — Her  Home-coming — The 
Return  of  Pius  VII  to  Rome — The  Death  of 
Giovanni  Patrizi 304 

Translator's  Note 317 

Index 321 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Marchesa  Cunegonda  Patrizi  (Coloured  Plate)  Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

Napoleon    4 

Rome.     Castle  of  Sant'  Angelo  (from  an  old  print)       28 

Photo  by  R.  Moscioni, 

Two  Sketches  from  the  Album  of  Cunegonda      .      38 

An  Almanac  formerly  in  the  possession  of  Cune- 
gonda     42 

Marchesa  Porzia,  wife  of  Francesco  Patrizi         .      44 

Rome.    The  Church  of  S.  Luigi  dei  Francesi,  facing 

Palazzo  Patrizi 84 

Photo  by  R.  Moscioni. 

Marchese  Giovanni  Naro  Patrizi    ....       98 
Rome.     Castle  of  Sant'  Angelo  (under  Pius  IX.)  .     112 

Photo  by  R.  Moscioni. 

CiVITA   VeCCHIA 128 

Photo  by  R.  Moscioni. 

Siena.     The  Chapel  in  the  Piazza  .        .         .        .150 

Photo  by  R.  Moscioni. 

Siena.    The  Piazza  and  Town  Hall        .        .        .164 

Photo  by  R.  Moscioni. 

Castle  of  Bard,  on  the  Road  from  Turin  to  Cour- 

mayeur.    Cunegonda's  Journey  over  the  Alps     194 

Photo  by  E.  Alinari. 

Ancient  Gateway  at  Susa 202 

Photo  by  E.  Alinari. 

Chateau  dTf .     222 

Photo  by  Giletta. 

Marchese  Francesco  Patrizi 262 

Pius  VII 312 

XV 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

By  J.  CRAWFORD   FRASER 

It  would  seem  probable  that  the  earliest  actual 
perception  of  what  he  was  wont  to  call  his  "  star  " 
came  to  Napoleon  during  the  hours  immediately 
following  upon  the  Coup  d'Etat  of  the  eighteenth 
of  Brumaire,  Year  VII — in  the  terms  of  the  Gregorian 
Calendar,  the  ninth  of  November,  1799. 

For  he  had  just  made  a  first  successful,  if  terrify- 
ing experience,  in  his  own  person,  of  the  supre- 
macy of  deeds  over  words  ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
supremacy  of  armed  force  over  the  clamour  and 
divided  counsels  of  windbag  politicians.  For  the 
first  time  he  had  dared  to  measure  himself  with  the 
constitution  of  his  country  ;  and,  after  passing 
through  the  most  momentous  hours  of  his  career, 
had  emerged  the  conqueror  by  a  hair's-breadth — 
thanks  to  the  superior  courage  and  presence  of  mind 
of  Lucien  Bonaparte  in  rallying  the  soldiers  to  the 
defence  of  his  elder  brother  against  the  enraged 
representatives  of  the  people.  What  Napoleon's 
innermost  thoughts  were,  precisely,  during  the  night 
which  followed  in  the  privacy  of  his  study  in  the 


4  HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

far  as  to  draw  down  upon  himself  that  ban  of 
excommunication  which  the  good  Pope  felt  com- 
pelled to  lift  from  him  again  in  the  very  hour  of 
its  accomplishment  as  signalised  by  the  retreat  of 
1812. 

This    disappointment   of    Napoleon's,    moreover, 
was  the  sharper  for  being  that  of  a  proud,  self-willed 
man  in  love,  whose  lawful  claim  (as  it  seems  to  him) 
to    complete    domination    over    the    object    of  his 
affections  is  rejected  with  contumely. 


In  truth,  not  only  was  Napoleon  an  inveterate, 
natural  Catholic,  but  he  was  also  a  mystic  ;  as  he 
once  said  to  one  of  his  Marshals  who  was  attempting 
to  deter  him  from  his  project  of  invading  Russia  : 
*'  Have  I  yet  accomplished  the  will  of  Fate  ?  I  feel 
myself  driven  towards  an  end  of  which  I  am  still  in 
ignorance  ;  but,  when  I  shall  have  attained  it,  a  grain 
of  dust  will  be  sufficient  to  beat  me  to  the  earth." 
Thus,  once  a  design  had  taken  root  in  his  mind,  it 
followed  that,  as  he  actually  did  so  believe  it  to  be 
an  inspiration  of  Heaven  Itself,  no  means  should 
have  appeared  to  him  too  outrageous  for  the 
execution  of  it.  Similarly,  it  stands  to  reason  that 
such  designs  needed  no  other  justification  for 
Napoleon  beyond  that  of  their  having  been  inspired 
in  him. 

From    the    hour    in  which  he   had  succeeded  in 


From  an  engraving  by  Achille  Lef-vi 
After  a  painting  by  Charles  5t  ube, 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION  5 

extorting  the  Pope's  consent  to  the  Concordat 
in  1 801,  Napoleon  had  had  only  one  conviction  in 
regard  to  Rome — that,  in  reward  for  his  restoration 
of  the  Catholic  religion  in  France,  it  was  the 
intention  of  Heaven  to  entrust  him  with  the 
temporal  overlordship  of  the  Church.  This  belief 
was  peculiarly  easy  to  him  by  reason  of  the  years 
he  had  spent  in  France,  during  which  his  naturally 
critical  mind  had  become  imbued  with  the  French 
antipathy  to  Roman  discipline  in  church  matters  ; 
in  a  word,  with  that  "  Gallicanism  *'  which  has  been 
the  scourge  of  French  Catholicism  from  the  days  of 
Henri  IV,  through  those  of  Louis  XIV,  Louis  XV, 
and  Napoleon  III,  even  to  our  own.  Also,  he 
thought,  honestly  and  weakly  enough,  that  he  would 
the  more  easily  be  able  to  bring  the  French  people 
back  to  the  Faith — of  which  the  Revolution  had 
deprived  it  and  without  which  he  felt  his  hold 
upon  the  country  to  be  at  best  but  a  precarious 
one — by  means  of  pandering  to  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  national  weakness  of  vanity,  not  only 
through  establishing  its  partial  independence  of 
Rome,  but  also  by  reducing  Rome  itself  to  the 
level  of  a  French  department. 

In  this  fixed  intention,  then,  it  was  that,  when  the 
battles  of  Austerlitz  and  Jena  had  made  him  the 
master  of  central  Europe,  his  long-cherished  am- 
bition of  becoming  a  second  Charlemagne  and 
*'  Protector  of  the  Holy  See  "  began  to  take  definite 
shape.     The  only  obstacles    in  his    path    were    the 


6  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

Pope  and  the  clergy,  with  their  stronghold  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Romans.  But  even  their  influence 
would  be  of  no  avail,  in  Napoleon's  eyes,  to  offer  any 
serious  opposition  to  the  power  of  his  glory,  of  his 
seductions,  and — if  need  were,  as  a  last  resort — of 
his  armies.  Of  other  than  moral  force,  to  do  him 
justice,  he  had  no  desire  to  make  use  in  this  instance. 
For  the  truth  was  that  he  was  in  love  with  Rome 
for  her  own  sake,  and  that  he  desired  all  her  love 
in  return  for  himself;  so  that  the  idea  of  sharing  it 
with  the  Pope  was  intolerable  to  him.  Indeed,  one 
may  say  that,  so  much  in  love  with  Rome  was 
Napoleon,  that  he  deemed  it  derogatory  for  her  to 
be  the  handmaid  of  any  less  a  man  (according  to  his 
own  standpoint  in  regard  to  earthly  matters)  than 
himself,  the  Emperor  of  the  West,  the  new  Charle- 
magne to  be. 

Having  seated  his  brother  Joseph  upon  the 
throne  of  Naples  in  April  1806  (a  necessary 
strategical  preliminary  in  view  of  his  Roman  pro- 
gramme) and  having  advanced  the  French  outposts 
to  Civita  Vecchia  in  the  following  month,  the 
Emperor  next  proceeded  to  fasten  a  multiplicity 
of  petty  quarrels  upon  the  Pope.  These  were 
brought  about  mainly  by  the  French  occupation 
of  the  papal  territories — on  the  ground  of  Pius  VII's 
refusal  to  depart  from  his  neutrality  in  the  contest 
between  England  and  France  by  forbidding  the 
importation  of  English  goods  into  his  dominions — 
a  series  of  outrages  culminating  in  the  seizure,  in 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  7 

October  1807,  of  the  Marches,  that  part  of  Italy 
which  lies  between  the  Adriatic  and  the  Apennines, 
the  southern  bank  of  the  river  Reno  and  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  Little  by 
little,  Pius  VII  found  himself  ever  more  closely 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the  forces  of  his  relentless 
adversary. 

And  then,  quite  suddenly,  came  the  end.  In  the 
dawn  of  February  2,  1808,  a  handful  of  French 
dragoons,  followed  by  a  division  of  infantry,  clattered 
leisurely  out  of  the  fog-bound  Campagna  across  the 
Ponte  Molle,  and  so  on  towards  the  Porta  del 
Popolo,  by  which,  about  eight  o'clock,  they  entered 
the  city.  They  were  under  the  command  of  General 
Sixtus  de  Miollis,  who  let  it  be  understood  that 
he  was  on  his  way  with  them  from  Florence  to 
Naples.  This  fiction,  however,  deceived  no  one; 
more  especially  when  the  ''visitors"  established 
themselves  promptly  and  methodically  in  the  Castle 
of  Sant'  Angelo — which  was  handed  over  to  them, 
on  their  request,  by  the  commandant  ! — and  the 
neighbouring  district.  In  addition  they  placed  a 
battery  of  field-guns  in  position  over  against  the 
Quirinal  Palace  in  which  the  Pope  was  accustomed 
to  spend  the  winter  months.  But  when  Miollis 
discovered  how  this  battery  had  been  trained  on  the 
PontifFs  own  residence,  he  ordered  it  to  be  removed  ; 
for  violence  was  not  yet  a  part  of  his  plan. 

That  same  day  he  asked  for  an  audience  of 
Pius  VII,  and,  on    its  being  accorded  to    him,  ex- 


8  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

plained  his  presence  in  the  city  by  representing 
himself  as  being  merely  desirous  of  paying  his 
respects  to  the  Head  of  Christendom  in  passing 
from  Florence  to  Naples  with  his  troops.  To  this 
the  defenceless  Pope  could  only  reply  with  what 
affability  he  could  muster.  On  leaving  the  Quirinal, 
Miollis  called  at  the  offices  of  the  papal  police 
and  informed  the  astounded  officials  whom  he  found 
there  that,  for  the  future,  they  would  receive  their 
orders  from  one  of  his  subordinates,  a  certain 
General  Herbin.  At  the  same  time  the  papal 
printers  were  forbidden  to  print  anything  whatso- 
ever which  might  be  sent  to  them  from  the  Quirinal 
without  having  first  obtained  permission  to  do  so 
from  the  new  Chief  of  Police. 

And  so  the  farce  of  Miollis'  "  visit  "  continued. 
As  the  days  succeeded  one  another  his  real  intention 
became  too  plain  to  admit  of  further  pretences,  and 
by  the  following  month  he  was  already  sending  into 
exile  all  who  dared  to  raise  their  voices  against  his 
conduct  and  the  presence  of  his  soldiers  in  Rome. 
These  rigours  he  endeavoured  to  temper  by  a  show 
of  friendship  towards  the  Roman  nobility,  whom  he 
repeatedly  invited  to  balls  and  receptions  at  his 
headquarters.  His  attempts  at  conciliation — albeit, 
at  first,  moderately  evocative  of  a  response  from  such 
patricians  as  had  been  led  to  suppose,  from  the 
mildness  of  the  Pope's  attitude  hitherto  in  regard 
to  the  French  invaders,  that  he  would  not  resent 
their  acceptance  of  Miollis*  advances — were,   how- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  9 

ever,  fated  to  prove  a  failure.  Immediately  after 
the  first  of  his  receptions,  which  had  been  quite 
well  attended,  Pius  VII  issued  a  decree  peremptorily 
forbidding  his  subjects  to  entertain  such  social 
relations  with  the  enemies  of  their  only  lawful 
Sovereign.  At  the  same  time  he  sent  a  vigorous 
protest  to  Paris  against  the  whole  business,  with  no 
other  result  than  that  of  determining  Napoleon  to 
bring  the  period  of  '  precautionary  occupation '  to  a 
close  as  soon  as  possible  by  substituting  for  it  the 
formal  annexation  of  Rome,  together  with  the 
Marches,  to  the  French  Empire. 

But  to  do  this,  all  at  once,  was  hardly  feasible, 
mainly  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  Emperor  was 
uncertain  as  to  the  effect  of  the  annexation  of  the 
Eternal  City  upon  the  Government  of  Austria, 
with  which  he  was  not  yet  prepared  to  go  to 
war  again.  This  being  so,  he  confined  himself  to 
the  incorporation  of  the  Marches  with  his  dominions 
on  April  2,  1808 — a  foretaste  of  his  quality  which 
was  not  without  effect  upon  the  population  both 
there  and  in  Rome  ;  for,  on  the  reception  of  the 
news,  there  broke  out  an  opposition  almost  of  the 
dimensions  of  a  revolution.  The  first  sign  of  this 
was  shown  in  a  recrudescence  of  brigandage  from 
the  Abruzzi  westwards,  through  the  Sabines,  to  the 
gates  of  Rome  itself.  "  Brigandage,"  rather,  so 
called,  since  the  vast  majority  of  "  brigands "  in 
this  instance  were,  in  all  probability,  only  armed 
supporters   of  their  rightful  ruler,  and  not  by  any 


10  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

means  thieves  or  murderers,  although  there  may  well 
have  been  a  certain  admixture  of  bad  characters  in 
their  ranks. 

In  order  to  deal  with  these  bands  Miollis,  unable 
to  spare  any  of  his  own  troops  for  the  purpose, 
endeavoured  to  organise  a  small  body  of  Gendar- 
merie from  among  the  inhabitants  of  each  village 
in  the  troubled  districts  to  cope  with  the  menace 
to  his  authority.  This  was  the  last  straw  which 
sufficed  to  break  the  Pope's  patience — seeing  that 
his  own  subjects  were  thus  being  formed  into  the 
nucleus  of  an  army  under  the  orders  of  foreign 
and  hostile  interlopers — and  he  replied  to  it  by  the 
publication  of  a  decree  threatening  any  one  who  might 
participate  in  it  with  the  lesser  excommunication. 
Within  twenty-four  hours  not  a  single  one  of  his 
more  decent  subjects  who  had  taken  service  in 
Miollis*  new  Gendarmerie  but  had  returned  their 
weapons  and  their  uniforms  to  the  French  Chief 
of  Police,  from  whom  they  had  received  them.  The 
only  Romans,  be  it  remarked,  moreover,  who  re- 
tained their  employment  under  General  Herbin 
were  found  to  be  a  handful  of  men,  all  of  whom 
were  known  by  their  criminal  antecedents  to  the 
Pope's  own  guardians  of  the  peace  ;  indeed,  a  list 
of  them,  with  their  police  dossiers^  had  been  already 
forwarded  sarcastically  by  Cardinal  Pacca,  as  Secretary 
of  State,  to  Herbin  as  an  assistance  to  his  labours. 

Simultaneously  the  Cardinal  Secretary  made  public 
the  fruits  of  the   investigations  of  his  agents  into 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  ii 

the  characters  and  police-records  of  such  individuals 
as  had  been  entrusted  by  Miollis  with  the  duty  of 
recruiting  for  his  local  Gendarmerie  ;  he  brought  them 
to  justice  on  a  charge  of  high  treason  before  the 
papal  magistrates  ;  and  so  presented  the  world  at 
large  with  such  a  series  of  scandalous  revelations 
as  completely  to  discredit  the  methods  both  of 
Miollis  himself  and  his  subordinates. 

There  followed  an  unsuccessful  attempt  of  the 
French  to  kidnap  Cardinal  Pacca,  which  was  thwarted 
by  the  firmness  of  the  Pontiff  in  person,  who  con- 
cealed his  secretary  and  ordered  the  fortification  of 
the  Quirinal,  in  which  he  gave  asylum  also  to  three 
other  Cardinals  whom  Miollis  had  menaced  with 
transportation  if  they  fell  into  his  hands. 


Had  Pius  VII  made  use  of  this  moment  to  give 
the  signal  for  a  general  rising  against  the  invaders 
it  would  probably  have  resulted  in  their  overthrow. 
For  six  months  the  Romans  had  been  awaiting  some 
such  signal  on  his  part,  and  all  was  ready  for  a 
revolt.  But,  for  some  reason  or  other,  he  held 
back,  and  nothing  happened — to  the  intense  dis- 
appointment of  his  people.  Nevertheless,  so  alarmed 
had  Miollis  been  by  the  nearness  of  the  danger  that 
he  sent  entreaties  to  Napoleon,  begging  him  to  take 
stronger  measures  against  the  opposition  of  the  Pon- 
tiff.    This  was  in  the  September  of  1808,  the  same 


12  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

month  in  which  Murat,  the  Emperor's  brother-in-law, 
was  created  by  him  King  of  Naples  in  place  of 
Joseph  Bonaparte,  who  had  been  lately  made  King 
of  Spain. 

No  sooner  was  Murat  seated  on  the  Neapolitan 
throne  than  he  began  to  offer  his  services  and  those 
of  his  army  to  Napoleon  against  the  "  rebellious 
Romans  and  their  ungrateful  Pontiff,"  as  he  styled 
them.  But,  in  truth,  the  Emperor  had  no  great 
desire  to  avail  himself  of  these  offers.  To  begin 
with,  it  was  no  part  of  his  policy  to  extend  his 
brother-in-law's  activities  any  further  beyond  the 
confines  of  Naples  than  could  be  helped.  For  Rome 
was  still  the  darling  of  Napoleon's  heart,  and  he  did 
not  intend  it  to  be  ravaged.  Also,  he  was  never 
entirely  trustful  of  Murat's  ambitions  ;  and  this 
more  especially  as  the  latter  had  given  his  whole  con- 
fidence to  a  man — Count  Salicetti — whom  Napoleon 
particularly  despised  and  disliked  for  his  personal 
cowardice  *  and  his  incurable  double-dealing.  This 
Salicetti  was  a  Corsican,  bilious,  sallow  of  com- 
plexion, and  with  a  pair  of  shifty,  chocolate-coloured 
eyes  ;  a  former  member  of  the  National  Convention 
of  1793,  and  a  regicide,  he  had  covered  himself  with 
obloquy  as  one  of  the  administrators  of  the  Reign  of 
Terror.  A  persecutor  of  religion  during  his  life- 
time,   when    the    hour    came    for   him    to  die,    in 

*  As  shown  by  his  inducing  two  women,  a  mother  and  her 
daughter,  to  shelter  him  at  the  risk  of  their  lives  during  the  Reaction 
after  July  1794 — a  fact  \vh\rh  came  to  the  knowledge  of  Bonaparte, 
who,  for  their  sakes  alone,  abstained  from  having  him  arrested. 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION  13 

December  1809,  he  sent  a  hasty  message  to  Fra 
Egidio,  the  famous  lay-brother  of  the  Franciscans 
in  Naples,  to  pray  for  him.  But,  on  receiving  the 
summons,  the  saint  replied  to  it  with  a  shake  of 
the  head.  ''  It  is  too  late,"  he  said ;  "  for,  as  you 
will  find  on  your  return  to  Palazzo  Maresca " — 
Salicetti's  residence  oiF  the  Chiaja — "  he  died  just 
after  you  left  there."     And  so  it  proved. 

Advised,  then,  by  Salicetti,  Murat  continued  to 
press  his  offers  of  interference  upon  the  Emperor 
throughout  the  winter  and  spring  of  1 808-1 809. 
This  did  not  prevent  him  from  representing  himself 
as  a  friend  in  disguise  to  Pius  VII  and  the  Curia 
at  Rome.  But,  at  first,  Napoleon  would  have  none 
of  him  ;  until,  at  long  length,  worn  out  by  his 
importunities,  and  having  no  one  else — on  account 
of  the  war  with  Austria  that  had  just  broken  out — 
the  Emperor  sent  word  to  him  in  the  last  days 
of  March  1809  ^^^^  ^^  was  to  re-enforce  MiolHs 
and  to  place  a  part  of  his  army  for  that  purpose  on 
the  Roman  frontier.  Murat,  however,  demurred  to 
the  idea  of  his  "  beautiful  troops  being  under  the 
orders  of  a  Miollis "  ;  likewise,  he  insisted  that 
nothing  else  but  only  his  own  nomination  to  the 
supreme  command  in  the  Roman  States  "  could 
possibly,"  as  he  put  it  in  a  letter  of  April  14,  1809, 
"disconcert  the  enemies  of  the  Emperor."  These 
representations,  however,  were  fruitless,  Napoleon 
having  no  intention  of  superseding  Miollis,  whom  he 
liked  and  trusted  both  as  an  aristocrat  and  a  soldier- 


14  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

courtier  of  the  old  school  of  Louis  XVI.  The  only 
concession  which  he  could  be  persuaded  to  make 
was  that  Murat  might  send  Salicetti  to  Rome  to 
represent  him  among  the  members  of  the  new 
Government ;  but  upon  the  condition  that  Salicetti, 
like  all  the  rest,  was  to  be  subject  to  MioUis. 

What  the  Emperor  did  not  know  was  that  Salicetti, 
without  waiting  for  his  permission,  had  already 
betaken  himself  to  Rome  in  order  to  further  the 
interests  of  Murat  with  the  Pope  and  the  Curia, 
as  well  as  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  next  step 
in  the  affair — that  of  the  imminent,  formal 
annexation  of  Rome  by  Murat  to  the  Empire. 
Arriving  thus  unexpectedly  at  Rome  early  in  April, 
Salicetti  informed  Miollis  of  the  intended  Coup 
d*Etat — to  the  amazement  of  the  General  who  had 
been  left  in  ignorance  of  the  Imperial  decision — and 
was  told,  in  exchange,  that,  come  what  might,  he 
was  to  consider  himself  Miollis'  subordinate.  This 
so  irritated  Salicetti  that  he  returned,  forthwith,  to 
Naples  ;  but  only  to  be  sent  back  again  at  once  to 
Rome.  Here  he  learned  that  a  certain  General 
Lemarrois  had  been  installed  as  charge  d'affaires  by 
Miollis,  who  had  gone  to  Milan  to  confer  with  the 
Viceroy  of  Italy,  Eugene  de  Beauharnais,  upon  the 
situation,  and  presumably,  to  ask  his  aid  towards 
the  subjugation  of  the  Papacy.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
Salicetti  did  not  actually  go  as  far  as  Rome  itself, 
but  broke  his  journey  at  Albano,  in  order  not  to 
arouse  the  suspicions  either  of  the  papal  authorities 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  15 

or  of  Miollis*  partisans  among  the  French.  From 
Albano  "  the  Corsican  Fouche,"  as  Salicetti  was 
nicknamed,  was  kept  in  touch  with  all  that  was 
taking  place  in  the  city  by  his  indefatigable  spies. 
As  he  wrote  to  Murat,  if  the  latter  meant  to  make 
himself  master  of  Rome  in  the  Emperor^s  name  by 
proclaiming  the  annexation  before  MioUis  could 
return  to  do  so,  he  must  act  at  once. 

Nothing  loath,  Murat  gave  orders  for  his  army 
to  advance  upon  Rome  on  June  7,  Salicetti  receiving 
instructions  to  meet  him  there  on  the  tenth  of  the 
same  month.  It  appeared  to  the  conspirators  that 
nothing  now  could  prevent  them  from  taking 
possession  of  the  papal  capital. 

What  was  at  the  bottom  of  Murat's  mind,  what 
astounding  designs  he  may  have  dared  to  cherish, 
must  for  ever  remain  a  matter  for  speculation.  His 
secret  relations  with  the  Pope,  no  less  than  the 
fact  of  Napoleon's  having  at  that  moment  just 
suffered  a  serious  defeat  at  Essling,  near  Vienna, 
may  contribute  to  something  approaching  a  solu- 
tion of  the  problem.  Also,  his  subsequent  open 
defection  from  Napoleon's  cause  a  few  years  later 
may  furnish  some  index  to  the  motives  of  his 
conduct  on  this  occasion. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  Salicetti  left  Albano  for  the 
Farnese  Palace  in  Rome,  with  high  hopes,  on 
June  9.  His  road  was  that  of  the  Appian  Way 
and  the  Porta  San  Giovanni. 

Scarcely  had  he  reached  his  destination,  however, 


i6  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

than  a  post-chaise  entered  the  city  at  a  gallop 
from  the  opposite  direction,  that  of  the  Flaminian 
Way  connecting  Rome  with  Florence  and  the  north. 
Passing  through  the  Porta  del  Popolo,  the  vehicle 
drew  up  in  the  Piazza  di  Spagna,  when  there  stepped 
from  it  three  men.  The  first  of  these  was  tall  and 
very  thin,  and  of  a  pronounced  stoop  ;  a  soldier  with 
a  uniform  of  most  unmilitary  slovenliness  ;  grey- 
haired  and  frightfully  disfigured  by  the  scar  of 
a  wound  in  the  face — his  jaw-bone  had  been 
fractured  by  a  British  musket-ball  in  America, 
where  he  had  served  under  Lafayette  at  Yorktown. 
This  was  none  other  than  Miollis  himself.  Of  his 
companions,  one  was  no  more  than  a  stripling ; 
a  handsome  boy,  radiant  with  the  delight  of  his 
first  political  post — Heaven  knows,  he  was  destined, 
soon  enough,  to  have  had  his  fill  of  such  employ- 
ments ! — one  Cesare  Balbo  by  name,  and  of  Genoa 
by  extraction.* 

The  third  of  the  trio  was  a  shorter,  stouter  man 
than  either  of  the  others,  pink-cheeked  and  smug, 
whose  brown  eyes  twinkled  rapaciously  as  he  glanced 
around  him — a  typical  lawyer-bureaucrat,  Baron 
Janet,  once  a  barrister  of  Lons-le-Saulnier,  now 
Solicitor-General  of  the  new  Government,  and 
charged  with  the  duty  of  public  prosecutor  as  well. 

To  these  three  were  to  be  added,  as  soon  as  they 

*  Overcome  by  remorse  at  his  share  in  the  French  proceedings 
in  Rome,  Balbo  fled  the  city  in  the  June  of  1810.  Thirty  years 
later,  even,  in  1839,  he  was  still  unable  to  refer  to  these  transactions 
without  tears  of  sorrow  for  his  participation  in  them. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  17 

should  arrive  in  Rome,  two  others  :  Gerando,  a 
philosopher  more  interested  in  Hobbs,  Kant,  and 
Descartes  than  in  politics  ;  and  a  Piedmontese,  Dal 
Pozzo,  the  bosom  friend  and  "  other  self  "  of  Janet, 
whose  severities  he  ardently  supported  in  the 
councils  of  the  "  Consulta,"  as  the  new  Govern- 
ment appointed  to  supplant  that  of  Pius  VII  was 
to  be  named.  The  very  differences  in  character  of 
the  five  members  of  it,  including  Miollis,  came 
eventually,  as  can  easily  be  understood,  to  cause  its 
utter  failure. 


No  sooner    had    Miollis  and  his  friends  reached 
the    city  than    the    General,    learning    of   Salicetti's 
presence   at    Palazzo    Farnese,   sent    orders    to   the 
King  of   Naples'  representative    to    meet    him    the 
next  day.     In  the  same  hour  he  resumed  the  com- 
mand   of  his  troops  from  Lemarrois  ;    and  so  the 
Neapolitan  conspiracy  was  brought  to  a  halt.  Thence- 
forth the  army  sent  by  Murat  from  Naples  under 
General    Pepe    was  relegated    automatically    to    the 
position  of  a  mere  auxiliary  force  under  the  supreme 
command  of  Miollis,  who  by  now  had  procured  a 
corps  of  gendarmerie  as  well,  under  General  Radet, 
from  Florence,  for  his  bodyguard.     It  need  hardly 
be  added  that,  for  his  timely  nipping  in  the  bud  of 
Murat's  attempt  to  make  himself  master  of  Rome, 
he  was  never  forgiven  by  the  ambitious  plotter. 
2 


i8  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

On  the  following  morning  the  Consulta — in 
which  Salicetti  was  temporarily  included  by  way  of 
placating  his  master — issued  a  decree  annexing  Rome 
to  the  Empire  in  the  name  of  Napoleon. 

But,  if  seriously  checked  by  Miollis*s  promptitude, 
Salicetti  still  persevered  in  his  attempt  to  discharge 
the  mission  with  which  Murat  had  entrusted  him. 
During  the  weeks  that  followed  upon  the  installation 
of  the  Consulta,  that  body  applied  itself  to  the  ''  re- 
forming "  of  all  institutions  obnoxious  to  its  theories, 
in  a  fury  of  zealous  destruction.  Sequestration  of 
church  property  and  the  expulsion  of  monks  and  nuns 
from  their  homes  were  succeeded  by  wholesale  changes 
in  the  life  of  Rome  itself.  The  setting  up  of  an 
entirely  novel  form  of  legal  procedure  was  accom- 
panied by  other  radical  alterations,  such  as  the 
abolition  of  lotteries,  privileges,  exemption  from 
taxation,  and  so  forth  ;  habits,  morals,  and  even 
amusements  were  all  in  future  to  be  regulated  by 
the  codes  of  Gerando,  Janet,  and  Company.  Within 
an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  some  sixty  pro- 
clamations to  this  effect  in  as  many  departments  of 
daily  life  had  so  bewildered  and  dismayed  the  un- 
fortunate Romans  as  almost  to  make  them  ask 
themselves  whether  their  existence  were  only  a 
perturbing  dream,  and  not  a  reality  at  all. 

The  only  thing  that  now  continued  to  cause  the 
Consulta  any  disquiet  was  the  steadfastness  with 
which  the  Pope  continued  to  protest  against  its 
usurpation   of  power.      This  he  did,   for  the  most 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  19 

part  effectually,  so  far  as  the  Romans  were  con- 
cerned, by  means  of  placards  threatening  any  ad- 
herents of  the  new  order  with  the  severest  clerical 
penalties ;  so  that,  as  before,  the  campaign  of  passive 
resistance  on  the  part  of  his  subjects  came  near  to 
paralysing  the  activities  of  Miollis  and  his  friends, 
until  it  was  obvious  to  them  that  their  sole  resource 
lay  in  the  complete  elimination  of  all  papal  influence 
within  the  circle  of  their  operations.  Nevertheless, 
they  hesitated  to  do  this  for  fear  of  causing  a  really 
serious  revolution — at  least,  this  was  the  constant 
dread  of  Miollis,  who  was  supported  by  the  vote 
of  the  best-minded  of  his  colleagues,  the  young 
Balbo.  On  the  other  hand,  Janet  and  Dal  Pozzo 
demanded  the  arrest  and  removal  of  Pius  VII  in 
no  measured  terms.  As  for  Philosopher  Gerando, 
he  was  against  any  decisive  steps  whatsoever. 

At  this  juncture  Salicetti,  to  whom  the  embarrass- 
ments of  the  Consulta  had  afforded  some  considerable 
consolation  for  the  failure  of  his  attempted  seizure 
of  power,  was  enabled  once  more  to  take  a  hand 
in  Roman  affairs  in  the  interests  of  his  master. 

Since  his  disappointment  in  June  he  had  let  slip 
no  opportunity  either  of  keeping  Napoleon  daily 
informed  both  of  the  mistaken  over-zeal  of  the 
Consulta  and  the  ever-increasing  irritation  and 
confusion  among  the  Romans,  or  of  urging  the 
necessity  of  Murafs  intervention  in  order  to 
counteract  the  Consulta's  want  of  determination  in 
regard  to  the  one  obstacle  to  the    successful  estab- 


20  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

lishment  of  the  Imperial  Government — namely,  the 
Pope  and  the  College  of  Cardinals.  Nothing,  he 
had  never  ceased  to  insist,  but  the  removal  from 
Rome  of  Pius  VII — that  and  the  breaking-up  of 
the  Curia — could  bring  the  Romans  to  accept  the 
Emperor's  reforms  in  the  right  spirit. 

The  hour  was  an  uncertain  one  for  Napoleon. 
Wagram  had  not  yet  been  fought,  and  he  was 
still  occupied  in  making  preparations  to  remedy 
his  all  but  disastrous  defeat  at  Aspern.  Matters 
were  also  going  against  him  in  Spain.  Under  these 
circumstances  he  was  not  in  a  position  to  decline 
the  offers  of  assistance  at  Rome  that  were  being 
pressed  upon  him  by  his  brother-in-law  and  Salicetti. 
For  if,  as  seemed  not  at  all  unlikely,  the  news  of 
his  difficulties  in  Germany  and  the  Spanish  Peninsula 
were  to  encourage  the  Romans  to  rise  and  throw 
off^  his  yoke  after  the  manner  of  the  Spaniards, 
there  were  no  French  forces  left  in  Italy  sufficient 
to  prevent  them  from  doing  so.  Obviously,  there- 
fore, there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  call  in  Murat's 
help  and  that  of  his  Neapolitans. 

And  so,  at  length,  Murat  received  a  hasty  line 
from  the  Emperor's  headquarters  bidding  him  move 
quickly,  so  that  the  thing  might  be  done  before  it 
should  be  too  late.  Strange  to  say,  it  would  seem 
that  no  intimation  to  this  eff^ect  was  sent  to  Miollis, 
although  Radet,  who  with  his  Gendarmerie  was  en- 
camped at  a  short  distance  from  Rome  and  to  the 
north  of  it,  got  word  somehow  of  what  was  in  the 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  21 

air,  and  immediately  marched  into  the  city,  where 
he  reported  everything  to  MioUis. 

If  the  latter  was  not  to  be  ousted  from  his 
command  by  the  King  of  Naples  there  was  not 
a  moment  to  be  lost.  What  was  to  be  done  must 
be  done  before  Murat's  forces,  under  Prince 
Pignatelli,  could  reach  the  city  and  take  the 
conduct  of  affairs  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Consulta.  Now  or  never  was  the  time  for 
MioUis  to  justify  the  Emperor's  choice  of  him 
as  Governor  of  Rome. 

"  So  his  Majesty  has  decided  to  remove  the 
Pope  at  last,  and  has  entrusted  the  job  to  the 
King  of  Naples  ?  Well,  then,  we  will  show  that 
we  can  handle  it  as  well  as  any  one !  But  we 
must  be  careful  to  keep  on  the  right  side." 

And,  without  further  ado,  Miollis  wrote  out  a 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  *'  Cardinal  Pacca,  and,  in 
the  event  of  resistance,  that  of  every  one  else  in  the 
Quirinal."  Thus  he  thought  to  avoid  the  odium 
of  having  actually  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  Pontiff 
in  person.  But  Radet  perfectly  understood  him, 
and  proceeded,  at  nine  o'clock  that  night  (July  5, 
1809),  to  carry  out  his  instructions.  As  Pignatelli 
and  the  Neapolitans  had  just  arrived  from  Albano, 
and  were  encamped  outside  the  Porta  San  Giovanni, 
it  was  necessary  to  act  with  the  utmost  secrecy 
to  prevent  them  from  discovering  and  forestalling 
Miollis's  new  counterstroke.  For,  if  once  Murat 
were   to   succeed    in    his   project   of  assuming  the 


22  HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION 

chief  part  in  expelling  Pius  VII,  his  position 
would  be  unassailable  and  his  influence  paramount. 
Napoleon  would  be  practically  compelled  to  make 
him  Governor  of  the  city,  which  would  thus 
come  de  facto  under  a  Neapolitan  administration. 
From  which  Murat  might,  not  unreasonably,  hope 
for  developments  that  should  make  him,  eventually, 
the  chief  power  in  the  Peninsula. 

This  expectation,  though,  was  foiled  by  Radet's 
contriving  to  force  the  gates  of  the  Quirinal 
between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  arresting  both  the  Pope  and  Cardinal  Pacca, 
whom  he  then  carried  off  with  him  at  full  gallop 
in  a  travelling-carriage  through  Porta  Pia  towards 
Tuscany,  where  they  were  to  be  incarcerated  in 
the  Carthusian  monastery  of  Ema.  So  that  Miollis 
had  won  the  second  trick  against  Murat  and 
Salicetti. 


None  the  less,  Murat  obtained  his  point  to 
some  extent  by  persuading  the  Emperor  to  appoint 
him  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Roman  kingdom. 
In  this  capacity  he  made  his  entry  into  the  city 
on  November  lo,  1809,  where  he  remained 
until  the  summer  of  18 10;  when,  on  realising 
that  Napoleon  had  no  thought  of  allowing  him  to 
be  anything  more  than  a  servant  of  the  Empire, 
he  then  abdicated  his  functions,  and  was  nominally 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  23 

succeeded  in  them  by  Fouch^,  the  ex-Police  Minister 
and  Duke  of  Otranto — who,  however,  came  no  nearer 
to  Rome  than  Florence. 

Nearly  four  years  were  to  elapse  before  Murat 
again  tried  his  hand  against  Miollis  ;  four  years 
during  which  the  Romans  alternately  groaned 
beneath  the  heel  of  their  French  masters  and 
danced  in  compliance  with  their  decrees.  Not 
until  the  November  of  18 12,  when  the  news  of 
Napoleon's  first  great  defeats  were  brought  to 
Rome,  did  they  begin  to  believe  there  might 
come  an  end  to  his  dominion  over  them.  But 
yet  another  twelve  months  were  to  pass  by  before 
their  hopes  received  any  great  encouragement — in 
the  overthrow  of  the  Emperor  at  Leipzig. 

By  this  time,  thanks  to  the  effect  of  Napoleon's 
"  Continental  Blockade  "  (by  which^  for  seven  years, 
he  had  prevented  all  foreign  over-seas  trade),  and  of 
his  merciless  conscriptions,  the  country  was  reduced 
to  a  state  of  anarchy  with  which  the  handful  of 
troops  under  Miollis's  orders  was  utterly  unable  to 
cope.  Brigandage,  fostered  by  liberalism  and  want, 
was  everywhere  rampant.  Bands  of  marauders 
wandered  throughout  Romagna,  Campagna,  and 
Umbria,  plundering  and  killing  at  will.  The  social 
order  was  outwardly  crumbling  to  a  fall  which  not 
even  permanent  courts-martial  and  scores  of  execu- 
tions by  bullet  and  rope  could  long  defer.  In  every 
open  space  of  Rome,  and  every  day,  three  or  four 
or  more  malefactors  were  shot  or  hanged  as  brigands  ; 


24  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

but  all  without  any  avail.  On  December  28,  1813, 
recourse  was  even  had  to  the  erection  of  the 
guillotine  in  Rome  under  the  euphonym  of  "  il 
nuovo  edificio  "  ;  but  the  disorders  continued  with 
unabated  licence  and  ferocity. 

Already,  however,  another  event  of  far-reaching 
import  to  Miollis  and  the  Consulta  had  taken 
place.  In  the  night  of  November  3-4  Murat  had 
arrived  in  Rome  fresh  from  the  battle-field  of 
Leipzig  ;  he  was  travelling  incognito  to  his  capital 
of  Naples  and  was  only  resting  for  a  few  hours  at 
an  hotel  in  the  Piazza  di  Spagna.  Here  Miollis 
visited  him — to  be  received  with  an  appearance  of 
lassitude  and  the  information  that  the  King  of 
Naples  was  about  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of 
30,000  men  and  to  defend  Italy  along  the  line  of 
the  Po.  This  was  all  that  he  would  say  ;  but  with 
Miollis  was  Count  Tournon,  the  Prefect  of  Rome,* 
who,  as  they  were  passing  out  through  the  ante- 
room, met  an  acquaintance,  an  aide-de-camp  of 
Murat' s,  who  whispered  to  him  : 

*'A11  is  lost.  The  Emperor  has  no  army  any 
longer,  and  the  Allies  must  now  be  on  the  Rhine.'* 
And,  with  that,  he  went  on  to  tell  of  the  frightful 
results  of  the  fighting  at  Leipzig,  and  of  how,  on  the 
next   day  after  the  beginning  of  the  retreat  from 


*  See  Madelin,  "La  Rome  de  Napol6on,"  p.  605,  an  invaluable 
publication  upon  the  epoch.  Tournon,  who  had  succeeded 
Gerando  in  the  Consulta,  was  forced,  against  his  will,  to  be  one 
of  the  principal  tormentors  of  the  Patrizi  family. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  25 

Saxony,  Murat  had  left  the  army  for  Naples,  there 
**  to  take  certain  weighty  decisions." 

From  which,  indeed,  both  Miollis  and  Tournon, 
knowing  Murat  as  they  did,  judged  that  the  worst 
might  now  be  expected  of  him  ;  that  is  to  say,  that 
the  real  reason  for  his  return  to  Italy  was  rather 
to  safeguard  his  own  interests  by  every  possible 
means  than  to  sacrifice  himself  in  the  waning  cause 
of  Napoleon. 

In  this  surmise  they  were  right.  Thenceforth 
the  revolutionary  movements  among  the  people 
seemed  to  take  on  a  character  of  daring  and  of 
solidarity  which  they  had  never  before  evinced. 
All  classes  combined  to  thwart  and  harass  the  luck- 
less Miollis  and  his  colleagues  by  every  conceivable 
means,  from  the  depredations  of  patriotic  bands  to 
the  outspoken  pulpit  denouncements  of  the  clergy, 
all  of  whom  derived  much  of  their  inspiration  to 
resistance  from  two  of  Murat's  accredited  representa- 
tives in  Palazzo  Farnese,  Zuccari  and  Maghella. 
By  means  of  these  two  Murat  had  contrived  to 
persuade  the  Romans  to  look  upon  him  as  the  Man 
of  Italy  and  the  restorer-to-be  of  all  her  former 
glories  and  her  freedom  from  foreign  enslavement. 

His  revenge  was  now  about  to  be  accomplished 
for  all  bygone  disappointments.  Already,  during 
the  month  of  October,  landing-parties  of  English 
troops  had  disembarked  upon  the  Roman  coast  at 
Porto  d'Anzio  and  had  put  to  flight  the  scanty 
French   garrisons  in   their  path.     At  any  moment 


26  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

they  might  be  expected  to  advance  upon  the  capital. 
The  city,  moreover,  was  known  to  be  seething  with 
disaffection,  and  no  one  could  be  trusted. 

Suddenly,  on  November  i8,  the  upheaval  became 
an  actuality  in  a  rising  in  the  district  of  Viterbo, 
headed  by  an  unfrocked  priest,  Felice  Battaglia. 
After  only  a  few  days  Battaglia  was  taken  prisoner 
and  brought  to  Rome,  where  his  true  relations  with 
Zuccari  were  brought  to  light.  The  chance  of 
denouncing  Murat's  complicity  in  the  ex-priest's 
rebellion  was  a  tempting  one ;  but  Miollis  was 
dissuaded  from  doing  so  by  a  letter  from  Durand, 
the  French  Minister  at  Murat's  own  Court  at  Naples, 
entreating  him  not  to  act  precipitately  for  fear  of 
stirring  up  an  even  more  formidable  popular  agita- 
tion. Also,  he  was  restrained  by  the  arrival  in 
Rome  of  the  Duke  of  Otranto,  Fouche,  who  had 
come  down  from  Milan  after  being  turned  out  of 
his  latest  Governor-Generalship — that  of  Illyria — 
by  the  Austrians.  What  his  business  might  be  in 
Rome  none  knew  but  only  Fouchd  himself;  but 
his  well-known  abilities  for  sudden  tergiversation 
made  it  not  improbable  that  he  was  already  acting 
as  an  intermediary  between  the  Austrians  and 
Murat.*  At  any  rate,  his  first  act  was  to  save  the 
compromising  Battaglia  from  the  executioner  by 
ordering    him    to    be    imprisoned    indefinitely,    and 

♦  The  subsequent  hospitality  extended  by  the  Emperor  Francis  to 
Murat's  wife  and  family,  as  well  as  the  asylum  offered  by  him  to 
Murat— who,  however,  rejected  it  in  favour  of  the  fatal  expedition 
to  Pizzo  iu  1815 — would  appear  to  confirm  this  belief. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  27 

by  quashing  any  further  inquiry  into  his  transactions 
with  Zuccari. 

On  January  5,  18 14,  after  a  little  more  than  a 
fortnight's  stay  in  Rome,  Fouche  took  his  departure 
for  Florence — and,  with  it,  the  entire  contents  of 
Miollis's  official  treasury,  leaving  him  and  the  Con- 
sulta  absolutely  denuded  of  financial  means  !  He 
had  certainly  left  nothing  undone  to  be  of  use  to 
the  King  of  Naples,  who,  on  the  last  day  of  the 
old  year,  had  concluded  a  secret  understanding 
with  the  Austrian  Government.  By  the  terms  of 
this  agreement  Murat  was  to  become  their  ally 
and  to  clear  Central  Italy  of  its  French  occupants, 
in  return  for  which  his  new  friends  were  to  do 
their  utmost  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  other 
European  Powers  to  his  retention  of  the  Throne 
of  Naples — an  arrangement  which  was  only  upset 
by  the  refusal  of  England  to  ratify  it  in  favour 
of  so  dangerous  a  person. 


On  the  other  hand,  MioUis  was  eagerly  awaiting 
his  assistance  to  reduce  the  unruly  Italians  to 
obedience  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  promise  to  that  effect  which  Murat 
had  given  him  on  his  passage  through  Rome  in  the 
foregoing  November.  Already,  at  the  end  of  that 
same  month  of  November,  a  detachment  of  Nea- 
politan troops  had    been  admitted    by  MioUis  into 


28  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

the  city,  in  this  belief.  Other  detachments  of  all 
arms  had  followed  them  during  the  first  days  of 
December,  until  by  the  loth  there  were  between 
10,000  and  15,00c  of  Murat's  soldiers  quartered 
within  the  walls.  By  now  the  whole  of  the  capital, 
with  the  exception  of  MioUis  himself,  was  convinced 
that  the  King  of  Naples  must  be  about  to  betray 
his  imperial  brother-in-law  by  adding  Rome  to  his 
own  dominions  —  a  conviction  engendered  and 
fostered  by  the  Neapolitan  officers  themselves,  both 
by  their  arrogance  towards  the  Romans,  whom 
they  treated  as  a  conquered  population,  as  well  as 
by  their  openly  saying  that  the  King  was  coming 
to  Rome  in  the  character  of  its  master,  and  with 
no  intention  whatever  of  marching  against  the 
Austrians. 

Murat,  however,  had  no  wish  to  come  face  to 
face  with  his  own  compatriots,  Miollis  and  the 
rest  of  the  French  whom  his  treachery  was  about 
to  outrage  ;  and  so  he  sent  yet  another  of  his  agents, 
the  Comte  de  Vauguyon,  to  represent  him  in  Rome, 
together  with  Zuccari  and  Maghella.  De  Vau- 
guyon, who  arrived  there  as  a  mere  tourist,  carried 
with  him  in  his  pocket  his  commission  as  Governor- 
General  of  the  Roman  States,  signed  and  sealed 
by  Murat.  Of  this  commission,  however,  he  did 
not  make  use  until  the  time  was  come,  but  remained 
for  a  while  quietly,  and,  to  all  appearances,  an 
unpretentious  sight-seer  at  an  hotel  in  the  Piazza 
di  Spagna. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  29 

By  the  night  of  January  18  everything  seemed 
to  the  conspirators  in  Palazzo  Farnese  to  be  ready 
for  their  purpose.  On  that  night,  then,  Maghella 
went  to  dine  with  Miollis  *  at  the  latter's  residence 
in  the  Doria  Palace.  Over  their  wine  the  talk 
was  led  by  Maghella  on  to  the  subject  of  antiquities 
in  general,  and,  in  particular,  of  MioUis's  own  col- 
lection of  pictures  and  statuary  in  his  villa  known 
as  the  Villa  Aldobrandini-MioUis.  So  disarmed  was 
the  General  by  the  astute  Maghella's  flattery  of  his 
views  on  art,  and  the  ardent  expression  of  Maghella's 
desire  to  view  his  collection,  that  Miollis  offered  to 
show  it  to  him  personally,  early  on  the  following 
morning — an  ofl^er  no  sooner  made  than  accepted. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  be  punctually  on  the  spot, 
Miollis,  in  lieu  of  sleeping,  as  had  been  his  wont 
for  some  weeks,  in  the  fortress  of  Sant'  Angelo, 
whither  he  had  withdrawn  his  meagre  force  of 
artillery  and  ammunition  as  a  precaution  against 
any  attempt  upon  them  by  night  on  the  part  of 
the  Romans,  decided  to  remain  at  Palazzo  Doria. 

No  sooner,  however,  had  the  two  men  parted 
company,  than  Maghella,  returning  to  his  confederate 
Zuccari,  told  him  of  the  success  of  the  ruse  by 
which  he  had  not  only  separated  Miollis  from  his 
artillery,  but  had  also  allayed  his  suspicions  against 
Murat  for  the  time  being.  There  would  never  be 
a  better  opportunity  of  achieving  their  end  ;  and, 

*  Who,  by  then,  had  no  illusions  left  as  to  the  schemes  of  Murat 
and  his  creatures. 


30  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

at  once,  the  two  sent  word  to  Pignatelli — the  same 
as  he  of  Murat's  former  attempts — to  disarm  the 
French  garrison  as  expeditiously  as  possible  under 
cover  of  the  darkness.  Likewise,  to  their  "  incog- 
nito "  chief,  de  Vauguyon,  in  Piazza  di  Spagna,  to 
say  that  the  hour  was  come  for  him  to  reveal 
himself.  This  he  did,  coming  at  once  and  in  the 
full  uniform  of  his  new  rank,  to  Palazzo  Farnese, 
there  to  embrace  his  coadjutors  and  to  draw  up 
with  them  a  suitable  proclamation  informing  the 
Romans  of  the  latest  blessing  bestowed  upon  them 
by  Heaven  in  response  to  their  prayers  for  deliver- 
ance from  their  French  tormentors. 

In  this  wise,  MioUis  being  surrounded  by  an  army 
of  Neapolitans  far  outnumbering  his  own,  was 
obliged  to  give  in — but  not  until  he  had  been 
besieged  for  six  weeks  in  the  Castle  of  Sant'  An- 
gelo,  whither,  in  the  course  of  the  next  day,  he 
was  allowed  to  retreat  from  Palazzo  Doria  by  the 
inertia  of  his  foes,  who  appeared  afraid  to  molest 
him.  Only  on  March  lo,  1814,  did  he  strike  his 
flag,  at  the  dictate,  solely,  of  starvation,  and  march 
out  with  his  few  "  faithfuls,"  headed  by  Radet. 
The  honours  of  war  were  thankfully  accorded  to 
them  by  order  of  Vauguyon. 

And  so  ended  the  French  tenure  of  Romagna, 
leaving  Murat  the  winner,  as  he  imagined,  of  the 
game. 

But  this  was  not  to  be.  For  Napoleon,  per- 
ceiving the  treachery  of  Murat,  had  already  written 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  31 

to  Pius  VII,  restoring  his  dominions  to  him,  on 
January  1 8,  in  the  very  hour  of  Maghella's  dinner 
with  Miollis  ;  and  the  Pope  was  now  preparing  to 
take  possession  of  them  once  more — and  that  with 
the  whole  of  Europe  at  his  back.  It  was  at  Bologna 
that  they  met,  the  Pontiff  and  Murat,*  on  which 
occasion  it  is  said  that  the  soldier  of  fortune,  in 
his  endeavour  to  persuade  Pius  VII  of  the  desire 
of  the  Romans  to  come  under  his,  Murat's,  own 
rule,  showed  him  a  petition  signed  by  the  heads  of 
many  noble  families,  in  which  they  testified  their 
preference  ;  and  that  the  other,  refusing  even  to 
glance  at  the  list  of  traitors  to  himself,  their  only 
rightful  Sovereign,  tore  it  up  and  threw  the  fragments 
into  the  fire. 

And  so  they  separated,  the  Pope  on  his  way  to 
Rome,  and  Murat  on  that  leading  to  his  defeat  at 
the  hands  of  the  Austrians  at  Occhiobello,  by  which 
he  was  to  be  made  an  outcast  and  an  adventurer 
during  the  little  time  that  remained  to  him  on 
earth. 

In  the  meanwhile.  General  Sixtus  de  Miollis, 
followed  by  the  remnant  of  his  army,  was  sorrow- 
fully retracing  his  steps  towards  the  place  whence  he 
had  formerly  set  out  so  full  of  belief  in  the  irre- 
sistible power  of  his  Emperor.  The  violation  of  the 
papal  neutrality  in  the  European  struggle,  from 
which  he  had  hoped  so  much,  had  utterly  failed  of 

*  Then  on  the   march  against  Austria  in  consequence  of  the 
failure  of  the  attempted  treaty. 


32  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

its  purpose,  and  Rome  was  once  more  the  capital  of 
its  lawful  monarch — just  as  one  looks  forward  soon 
to  see  another  capital,  that  of  Belgium,  wrested  from 
the  condition  to  which  it  was  recently  subjected  by 
another  General  Sixtus — Sixtus  von  Arnim — in  this 
present  year  of  1914. 


The  six  years  during  which  the  Romans  had 
lived  under  their  French  masters  had  been  a 
severe  test  of  character.  All  that  was  best  and 
worst  had  been  sifted  to  its  foundations  and  had 
come  out  on  one  side  or  the  other.  If  many,  alas  1 
of  the  nobility  had  been  found  wanting  both  in 
loyalty  to  their  religious  inheritance  and  their 
Sovereign,  others,  again,  had  proved  their  right 
indisputably  to  the  title  of  "  the  Faithful." 

Among  the  latter  there  is  no  more  striking 
example  than  that  of  the  House  of  Patrizi  in  the 
person  of  its  eldest  son,  Don  Giovanni,  the  hero 
of  these  "  Memoirs."  Jeered  at  in  softer  times 
for  his  devotion  to  the  Catholic  Church,  by  lesser 
men,  Don  Giovanni  yet  showed  himself  in  the  hour 
of  danger  to  be  a  Man — to  the  manifest  confusion 
of  his  detractors  who,  themselves,  offered  little  or 
no  resistance  to  Napoleon's  blandishments  and 
threats.  In  truth,  so  impressed  by  Don  Giovanni's 
fearlessness  were  even  his  adversaries  that  he  had 
no  more  sincere  admirers  than  the  very  men  whose 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  33 

unsuccessful  mission  it  was  to  coerce  him.  Both 
Miollis  and  Tournon  have  testified  their  apprecia- 
tion of  his  unflinching  courage.  For  they  were 
neither  of  them  cowards — and,  to  brave  men,  a 
brave  man,  albeit  an  opponent,  is  ever  of  their 
common  brotherhood. 


THE    PATRIZI    MEMOIRS 


CHAPTER   I 

On  January  3,  1796,  the  Palazzo  della  Consulta  on 
the  Quirinal  hill  was  the  scene  of  a  very  brilliant 
assembly  gathered  to  celebrate  the  betrothal  of 
Marchese  Giovanni  Naro  Patrizi  to  the  Princess 
Cunegonda  of  Saxony.  The  host  was  Cardinal 
Braschi,  the  nephew  of  the  reigning  Pope,  and  some 
of  the  greatest  names  in  Europe  were  included  in 
the  list  of  his  guests,  among  whom  was  Prince 
Augustus  of  England.  But  the  interest  of  all  was 
centred  on  the  bride,  her  father,  Prince  Xavier  of 
Saxony,  and  her  brother.  Prince  Joseph.  Of  the 
three,  perhaps  Prince  Joseph  excited  the  most 
curiosity,  not  only  because  he  had  not  been  seen 
in  Rome  before,  but  on  account  of  an  adventure  of 
his  at  the  Court  of  Russia  two  years  earlier.  The 
connection  with  Russian  affairs  was  of  long  standing, 
for  Prince  Xavier,  the  father  of  Joseph  and  Cunegonda, 
was  the  second  son  of  Frederic  Augustus  II  of 
Poland,  and  for  several  years  regent  for  his  young 
nephew,  Frederic  Augustus  III,  who  became  the 
first  King  of  Saxony.      The  young  Prince  Joseph 

35 


36  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

had  been  taken  into  great  affection  by  the  Empress 
Catharine,  a  favour  which  had  apparently  excited 
jealousy  in  her  Court,  for  he  was  drawn  into  a 
violent  quarrel  with  a  Russian  nobleman  who  instantly 
challenged  him  to  fight  a  duel.  Before  the  affair 
could  come  off  the  Empress  was  informed  of  what 
had  taken  place,  and  her  fury  knew  no  bounds  on 
hearing  that  Joseph's  adversary  had  dared  to  challenge 
a  Prince  of  the  Blood.  She  punished  her  subject's 
audacity  by  condemning  him  to  Siberia  for  eight  years. 
Two  of  these  were  over  when  the  Prince  assisted  at  his 

sister's  betrothal.     Six  years  afterwards  Count , 

having  worked  out  the  term  of  his  imprisonment, 
was  set  at  liberty,  and  his  first  act  was  to  call  out 
Prince  Joseph  again.  The  duel,  postponed  for  eight 
years,  was  fought  to  a  finish  this  time  ;  the  Russian's 
eye  and  hand,  as  also  his  vindictiveness,  had  not 
weakened  in  captivity,  and  he  killed  his  man. 

Although  the  bride  was  called  Cunegonda  of 
Saxony,  she  was  really  half  Italian — a  fact  which 
accounts  in  part  for  her  complete  mastery  of  the 
language,  and  perhaps  also  for  the  readiness  with 
which  she  adapted  herself  to  the  Roman  modes  of 
life,  at  that  time  rather  different  from  those  of  the 
French  Court,  where  her  childhood  was  passed. 
Her  father,  the  brother  of  the  "  Grande  Dauphine," 
the  mother  of  Louis  XVI,  had  departed  from  the 
traditions  of  his  class  and  married  for  love.  While 
he  was  acting  as  Regent  for  his  nephew,  he  was  con- 
stantly obliged  to  confer  with  the  boy's  mother,  and 


PRINCE  XAVIER  OF  SAXONY  37 

thus  made  the  acquaintance  of  her  lady-in-waiting,  a 
beautiful  Italian  girl,  the  Contessina  Chiara  Spinelli 
of  Fermo. 

We  first  hear  of  the  young  lady  as  having  been 
introduced,  with  her  uncle  and  her  brother,  at  the 
Court  of  Vienna  by  the  poet  Metastasio.  The 
reasons  for  their  visit  are  not  explained,  but  we 
gather  that  they  were  cordially  welcomed,  and,  when 
they  wished  to  travel  further,  warmly  recommended 
to  the  mother  of  the  King  of  Saxony,  for  not  only 
was  Chiara  at  once  attached  to  the  royal  lady's  house- 
hold, but  honourable  employments  were  found  for 
her  father  and  her  brother  as  well. 

Prince  Xavier  fell  madly  in  love  with  her,  and 
a  secret  marriage  took  place.  But  it  was  not 
possible  to  keep  the  secret  long.  The  Prince, 
learning  that  his  relations  with  the  maid  of  honour 
had  become  the  subject,  first  of  gossip  and  then 
of  scandal,  at  once  declared  the  fact  of  his  marriage, 
and  turned  all  his  energies  to  obtaining  the  recogni- 
tion of  his  beautiful  young  wife  as  a  Princess  of 
the  Blood.  He  met,  naturally,  with  violent  opposi- 
tion from  all  the  related  royalties,  but  such  was 
his  determination  and  persistence  that  he  succeeded 
in  the  end,  and  all  the  privileges  of  his  own  rank 
were  formally  granted  to  his  wife.  This  victory 
of  affection  was  only  gained  when  they  had  been 
married  for  twelve  years,  and  in  the  meanwhile, 
the  young  King  having  come  of  age.  Prince  Xavier 
wisely  changed  his  residence  and  took  up  his  abode 


38  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

in  France,  where,  as  the  uncle  of  the  reigning 
monarch,  he  was  made  exceedingly  welcome. 

He  had  great  wealth,  and,  having  bought  the 
chateau  of  Pont-sur-Seine  from  the  Rohans,  he 
fitted  it  up  very  magnificently  and  made  it,  as  he 
fondly  believed,  his  home  and  that  of  his  children 
after  him.  Here  most  of  them  were  born,  two 
sons  and  five  daughters,  of  whom  Gondina,  as  she 
was  usually  called,  was  the  youngest  but  one. 
Although  the  chateau  was  at  some  distance  from 
Paris,  there  seems  to  have  been  much  pleasant 
coming  and  going  between  it  and  Versailles,  for 
the  Saxon  Princesses  were  constantly  with  the 
children  of  France,  and  there  is  in  Palazzo  Patrizi 
a  delightful  little  old  album,  in  which  Gondina 
tried  her  small  hand  at  drawing.  There  are 
sketches  of  flowers  and  scenery,  and  portraits, 
childish  but  quite  recognisable,  of  Louis  XVI, 
Marie  Antoinette,  and  the  Dauphin.  Also  a  dis- 
tinctly malicious  sketch  of  a  prim,  elderly  woman 
with  a  most  disagreeable  expression,  a  governess 
she-dragon  of  some  kind,  who  was  evidently  not 
popular  in  the  royal  nurseries. 

The  relics  of  Gondina's  happy  childhood  have  an 
almost  tragic  charm,  for  the  clouds  of  the  Revolution 
were  already  heavy  on  the  horizon  when  she  wrote 
her  careful  exercises  in  history  and  poetry  in  those 
yellow  old  copy-books,  she  and  all  around  her  in  the 
hot-house  of  the  Court  so  utterly  unconscious  of  the 
impending  cataclysm.     Among  her  things  is  a  tiny 


"  A 


THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION  39 

almanac  bound  in  brown  leather,  "Etrennes  mignones 
(sic)  curieuses  et  utiles  pour  Tannic  1790,"  published 
by  the  Court  Printer,  Guillot.  Stamped  in  gold,  on 
the  cover,  is  a  picture  of  the  storming  of  the  Bastille  ! 
In  the  letterpress  is  given  an  account,  carefully  edited 
for  royal  ears,  of  the  events  of  the  preceding  year. 

The  eldest  of  Gondina*s  sisters  was  happily  married, 
before  the  storm  broke,  to  the  Due  d'Esclignac. 
The  King  made  a  very  grand  affair  of  her  wedding, 
both  he  and  the  Queen  assisting  in  person  at  the 
ceremony.  Unlike  many  others  of  their  class,  the 
d'Esclignacs  succeeded  in  making  good  their  escape, 
and  taking  refuge  in  Saxony.  The  young  Duchess's 
father  and  mother  fled  with  their  other  children  to 
Italy,  but  the  splendid  home  at  Pont-sur-Seine  was 
sacked  from  top  to  bottom  by  the  revolutionists, 
who,  however,  overlooked  the  family  archives  and 
the  valuable  library,  both  of  which  properties  arc 
now  preserved  in  the  State  Library  at  Troyes. 

Prince  Xavier  brought  his  family  to  Fermo,  in  the 
hope  that  her  native  air  would  restore  his  wife's 
health,  which  had  suff^ered  severely  from  the  terrify- 
ing shocks  of  the  past  few  months.  She  revived 
wonderfully  at  first,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1792 
seemed  so  much  better  that  he  ventured  to  leave 
her  with  her  relations  in  Fermo  and  to  take  his  four 
young  daughters  for  a  journey  to  Augsburg,  where 
he  seems  to  have  had  some  affairs  to  settle.  To  his 
great  grief,  however,  his  beloved  wife  grew  suddenly 
worse  and  died  before  he  could  return  to  Fermo. 


40  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

Princess  Chiara*s  death  was  a  terrible  blow  to  her 
husband.  He  felt  that  without  her  sweet  presence 
family  life  was  no  longer  possible.  His  eldest  son 
died  just  as  he  was  about  to  enter  the  Church  ; 
whilst  the  younger,  Prince  Joseph,  entered  the  army 
and  was  attached  to  the  Russian  service  ;  so  that 
there  were  left  only  the  four  daughters,  and  poor 
Prince  Xavier,  realising  his  inability  to  superintend 
their  education  himself,  brought  them  to  Rome  and 
confided  them  to  his  good  friend,  the  Princess 
Cornelia  Barberini. 

What  the  poor  children  thought  of  the  transfer 
is  not  recorded.  No  one  in  those  days  took  any 
notice  of  young  people*s  feelings,  and  we  may  be 
sure  that  these  were  only  expressed  to  each  other. 
It  would  have  been  considered  outrageous  for 
them  to  dispute  the  rulings  of  their  omnipotent 
and  supposedly  all-wise  elders ;  but  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  many  bitter  tears  were  shed 
in  the  big  bedroom  in  the  Barberini  palace  when 
the  rushlight  burnt  low  and  their  attendants  were 
asleep.  The  gay  untrammelled  life  at  Pont-sur-Seine 
and  Versailles,  for  all  the  terrors  and  storms  in 
which  it  had  closed,  must  have  looked  wonder- 
fully sweet  and  kind  compared  to  their  present 
existence.  The  loss  of  their  mother  was  naturally 
an  ever-present  grief  ;  now,  in  a  manner  of  speaking, 
their  father  was  lost  to  them  too,  and  they  were 
probably  very  much  afraid  of  Princess  Barberini, 
who  seems  to  have  been  rather  a  stern  person,  if  one 


THE  FOUR  PRINCESSES  41 

may  judge  by  the  steps  she  took  to  carrry  out  the 
charge  laid  upon  her. 

She  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  being  daily 
and  hourly  responsible  for  four  beautiful  heiresses 
brought  up  on  far  less  Spartan  lines  than  those 
of  Roman  noble  families ;  and  so,  without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  she  shut  the  young  Prin- 
cesses up  in  the  convent  of  the  Oblates  of  Tor 
de'  Specchi,  there  to  be  kept  under  lock  and  key 
till  they  were  of  marriageable  age,  and  suitable 
marriages  had  been  arranged  for  them !  *  The 
whole  arrangement  looks  very  cruel  to  us,  and 
one's  heart  aches  over  what  the  subjects  of  it 
must  have  suffered  day  after  day  and  month 
after  month — the  wearisome  confinement  of  young 
minds  and  bodies  in  the  dull  convent  precincts, 
the  longing  for  air  and  fun  and  freedom  that  must 
have  consumed  those  poor  little  hearts  ! 

It  took  four  years  to  liberate  them  all.  One 
by  one  they  were  brought  out  to  meet  the 
husbands  chosen  for  them — to  promise  and  vow 
all  that  a  woman  can  give,  to  a  complete  stranger, 
and,  what  seems  most  wonderful,  to  live  up  to 
the  vows !  Gondina  was  the  third  to  emerge 
from  the  convent,  and  the  history  of  her  life  with 
Giovanni  Naro  Patrizi  is  the  history  of  an  ideal 
love-marriage  unshadowed  by  a   cloud,  warm    and 

*  In  quite  recent  years  a  curiously  similar  incident  occurred. 
Four  young  heiresses,  sisters,  were  confided  to  these  distinguished 
Religious,  to  be  taken  care  of  till  they  should  reach  a  marriageable 
age. 


42  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

tender  and  faithful  to  the  very  end,  a  union 
where  perfect  trust  and  perfect  affection  hallowed 
and  illuminated  every  thought  and  action  of 
husband  and  wife.  Both,  it  is  true,  were  pro- 
foundly religious  at  heart,  and,  regarding  their 
union  as  a  supremely  sacred  matter,  brought  every 
sense  and  feculty  to  fulfilling  the  obligations  it 
imposed ;  one  can  only  feel  that  their  crystal 
purity  of  intention  received  its  fitting  reward. 
There  is  something  to  be  said,  too,  for  the 
atmosphere  in  which  they  found  themselves,  an 
atmosphere  where  virtue  and  faith  and  sweetness 
were  expected  as  matters  of  course,  and  where 
the  modern  theory  of  individual  rights,  irrespective 
of  family  obligations,  would  have  been  regarded 
as  the  blackest  of  heresies. 

Princess  Gondina  had  always  put  her  whole 
heart  into  whatever  she  undertook ;  her  little 
copybooks  are  full  of  a  clear,  strong  handwriting, 
and  testify  to  a  great  deal  of  intelligence  as  well 
as  good-will  even  when  she  was  very  young.  That 
her  intelligence  was  much  above  the  average  is 
shown  by  her  later  correspondence.  Her  views 
are  always  sensible  as  well  as  elevated,  and  they 
are  expressed  with  commendable  clearness  and 
concentration.  Her  husband's  complete  trust  in 
her  judgment  is  shown  again  and  again  during 
the  enforced  separation  which  events  induced. 
After  writing  to  express  his  own  wishes  and 
feelings    on    the    burning    questions    which    arose, 


*Mt^j^»*<aaffrtM YiiTitiiii  fci  «^ 


THE    COVER    OF    AN    ALAANAC. 

Formerly  in  the  possession  of  Cunegonda. 


FROM  CONVENT  TO  PALACE  43 

he  always  wound  up  by  saying,  *'  Nevertheless,  I 
leave  everything  in  your  hands.  Use  your  own 
judgment — it  will  certainly  be  right." 

The  most  important  years  of  Gondina's  develop- 
ment had  been  passed  in  the  close  seclusion  of  the 
convent,  where,  judged  by  modern  standards,  the 
education  must  have  been  anything  but  liberal  ;  yet 
when  she  came  out  to  be  married  she  at  once  took 
her  place  in  an  exceedingly  critical,  and,  to  her,  quite 
unknown  society,  with  perfect  grace  and  dignity, 
and  learned  men  pronounced  her  to  be  a  very 
cultivated  woman.  A  letter  written  before  her 
marriage  describes  her  as  "  so  beautiful,  so  white, 
so  diaphanous,  that  she  is  enchanting  to  behold. 
Her  hands  are  miraculous.  .  .  .  She  is  very  gentle 
and  very  cultured." 

When  she  married  Giovanni  Patrizi,  his  father, 
Francesco,  was  a  man  of  only  middle  age,  and  in  every 
sense  the  head  of  the  family.  His  son  could  own 
no  property  during  his  father's  life-time,  and  the 
latter  ruled,  in  theory,  as  autocratically  as  any 
oriental  potentate.  But,  in  fact,  he  was  not  par- 
ticularly interested  in  ruling  ;  his  own  tastes  and 
aspirations  were  literary  and  artistic,  and  he  gladly 
left  the  management  of  his  many  affairs  to  his  wife 
Porzia,  and  his  eldest  son.  The  former  was  a  very 
notable  woman,  and  the  administration  could  not 
have  fallen  into  more  capable  hands.  Judged  from 
her  own  letters  alone,  of  which  there  arc  great 
numbers  in  the  Patrizi  archives,  she  appears  as  the 


44  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

most  practical  and  the  most  resolute  of  business 
women.  Her  handwriting  is  vigorously  masculine, 
and  her  orders  as  short  and  incisive  as  military 
commands.  But  in  the  private  diaries  and  letters 
of  her  children  Porzia  Patrizi  appears  in  quite 
a  different  light,  tenderly  affectionate  and  warm- 
hearted, scrupulously  considerate  of  the  feelings  of 
others,  and  a  pillar  of  strength  in  time  of  trouble. 
The  only  portrait  of  *'  Marchesa  Porzia "  in  the 
Patrizi  gallery  was  painted  very  soon  after  her 
marriage,  and  one  finds  it  difficult  to  connect  the 
smiling,  rather  mischievous,  but  extremely  pretty 
young  woman,  dressed  in  the  richest  of  Pompadour 
costumes — all  gold  lace  and  rosebuds — with  the 
mother  and  grandmother  of  later  life,  who  (like  a 
certain  gentleman  of  Irish  fame)  was  loved  as  much  as 
she  was  feared,  and  feared  as  much  as  she  was  loved. 
Marchesa  Porzia  and  Cunegonda  of  Saxony  under- 
stood each  other  at  once,  and  the  tie  between  them 
only  strengthened  with  the  passing  of  years.  Yet,  to 
our  modern  eyes,  the  relation  would  seem  a  very 
hazardous  one  at  first  sight,  for  the  etiquette  of 
the  time  did  not  grant  the  young  couple  even  a 
day  of  privacy  after  their  wedding.  This  took 
place  on  January  7,  at  the  Church  of  St.  Philip 
Neri,  a  saint  for  whom  Giovanni  Patrizi  had  a 
special  devotion.  There  was  a  grand  feast  and 
reception  afterwards  at  the  Patrizi  Palace,  and  when 
this  was  over  the  bride  and  bridegroom  drove  out 
to  Albano,  accompanied  by  the  latter's  father  and 


AARCHESA    PORZIA. 

The  wife  of  Francesco  Fatrizi. 


GONDINA^S  WEDDING  45 

mother  and  his  uncle,  Monsignor  Naro.  The  next 
day  all  the  other  relations  and  many  friends  went 
out  to  Albano,  and  were  entertained  at  dinner  ; 
then  the  whole  party  returned  to  Rome  together, 
and  Giovanni  and  his  Gondina  began  their  married 
life  as  a  couple  of  grown-up  children  always  under 
the  eyes  of  their  elders.  That  such  was  the  pre- 
vailing custom  in  all  the  patrician  Roman  families 
we  know  ;  but  there  can  have  been  few,  if  any,  where 
the  system  worked  with  such  absolute  smoothness 
and  harmony  as  in  Palazzo  Patrizi.  In  the  im- 
mensely voluminous  archives  of  that  time  (they 
were  all  great  letter-writers  and  diarists)  there  is 
not  a  hint  of  a  disagreement  on  any  subject ;  not 
a  shadow  or  suspicion  of  discord  ever  darkens  a 
single  page.  The  keenest  interest  and  sympathy 
in  one  another's  joys  and  sorrows,  the  glow  of 
perfect  trust  and  understanding,  illuminate  every 
record  of  the  family  from  the  time  of  Giovanni's 
marriage,  and  the  heavy  trials  that  fell  upon  them 
some  years  later  seem  only  to  have  drawn  them  all 
more  closely  together. 

There  were  no  clouds  on  the  horizon  when 
Princess  Cunegonda  came  to  gladden  the  rather 
elderly  and  serious  circle  of  Casa  Patrizi.  Her 
mother-in-law  was  as  eminent,  if  we  may  use  the 
word,  in  social  gifts  as  in  practical  ones,  and  she 
exercised  a  great  influence  over  the  society  of  Rome 
at  that  time.  She  had,  like  all  the  other  great  ladies 
of  her  day,  a  kind  of  court  composed  of  admirers 


46  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

and  friends ;  but  those  admitted  to  Marchesa  Porzia's 
intimacy  were  all  men  of  marked  distinction  in  one 
way  or  another,  and  the  faithfulness  with  which 
they  passed  their  evenings  in  her  salon  showed 
clearly  enough  the  high  estimation  in  which  they 
held  her.  The  list  of  names  is  imposing — Cardinal 
Consalvi,  Cardinal  Albani,  and  many  other  Eminences 
and  Monsignori,  the  Grand  Master  of  the  (temporarily 
suppressed)  Knights  of  Malta,  the  Governor  of  Rome, 
and  more  of  the  same  stamp.  It  strikes  one  as  a 
somewhat  sombre  society  this,  into  which  the  young 
girl  fresh  from  her  convent  was  suddenly  introduced. 
But  the  good  fairies  who  had  hovered  over  her  cradle 
had  dowered  her  with  some  subtle  and  exquisite 
power  by  which  she  drew  all  hearts,  young  or  old, 
to  love  her  and  rejoice  over  her.  She  at  once 
became  the  acknowledged  queen  and  idol  of  the 
Patrizi  household  and  the  Patrizi  salon.  Her  father- 
in-law  wrote  her  the  tenderest  verses  ;  the  prelates 
and  men  of  letters  vied  with  one  another  in  the 
court  they  paid  her  ;  and  it  says  much  for  both  her 
character  and  that  of  her  mother-in-law  that  the 
latter,  although  a  comparatively  young  woman  her- 
self, never  seemed  to  feel  the  slightest  jealousy  of 
the  blooming  girl  who  had  thus  come  to  share  her 
throne.  On  the  contrary,  the  Marchesa  Porzia 
seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  the  popularity  of  her 
charming  daughter-in-law.  When  the  nursery  of  the 
Palace  began  to  fill  she  took  upon  herself  the  chief 
care  of  the  children,  their  young  mother  being  rather 


THE  MARRIAGE  DOWRY  47 

delicate,  but  at  the  same  time  she  deferred  in  all 
things  regarding  them  to  their  mother's  wishes. 
To  us,  who  happen  to  remember  the  reign  of  a 
recent  grandmother  in  that  same  house,  it  seems 
an  unheard-of  marvel  that  Marchesa  Porzia,  eighty 
or  ninety  years  nearer  the  patriarchal  days,  should 
ever  have  deferred  to  anybody  at  all. 

One  detail  of  Cunegonda's  marriage  strikes  one 
curiously  as  affording  a  remarkable  contrast  to  the 
practice  of  later  times.  Her  father.  Prince  Xavier, 
wished  to  give  each  of  his  daughters  a  dowry  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars  ;  but  a  special  permission  had 
to  be  obtained  for  this  large-handedness  from  the 
Pope,  the  cash  dowry  of  any  bride  of  a  noble  house 
being  limited  by  statute  to  the  sum  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  As  usual,  even  in  our  own  day,  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  income  was  settled  upon  the 
bride  for  her  pin-money — in  Cunegonda's  case  seven 
hundred  dollars  a  year — the  remainder  passing  en- 
tirely under  the  control  of  her  husband's  family, 
to  be  used  and  administered  for  the  general  benefit. 
One  reads  so  often  in  the  ancient  chronicles  of 
heiresses  bringing  enormous  properties  to  their 
husbands  that  the  mention  of  the  old  statute  strikes 
a  rather  surprising  note. 

One  great  pleasure  Cunegonda  must  have  had 
was  in  finding  in  her  new  home  a  wee  sister-in-law 
of  three  years  old,  with  whom  she  could  fancy  her- 
self a  child  again,  until  her  own  children  came  to 
fill  her  heart.     Her  sisters,  it  is  true,  were  living 


48  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

in  Rome,  one  married  to  the  eldest  son  of  Prince 
Altieri,  one  to  the  Duca  Riario,  and  one,  the 
youngest,  to  Marchese  Massimo  ;  but  as  each  had, 
like  herself,  been  absorbed  into  the  husband's  family 
and  taken  up  with  his  interests,  Gondina  depended 
almost  entirely  on  the  Patrizi  circle  for  sociability 
and  cheer.  Any  friends  whom  she  introduced  there 
were,  however,  cordially  received,  and  one,  the 
sculptor  Canova,  taken  into  the  little  ring  of  inti- 
mates who  constantly  met  in  Marchesa  Porzia's 
drawing-room.  For  Gondina  he  executed  a  charming 
marble  head  of  the  Madonna,  which  is  still  a 
treasured  possession  of  her  descendants. 

Her  first  boy  was  born  in  June  1797,  and  named, 
after  his  great-grandfather,  Xavier ;  the  second,  Con- 
stantine,  came  in  the  following  year,  and  the  last, 
Filippo,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  most  quaint  and 
vivacious  child,  five  years  later,  in  1803.  He  and 
Xavier  were  born  Romans,  but  Constantine's  birth 
took  place  in  Siena,  which  was  the  original  cradle  of 
the  Patrizis,  and  where  they  owned — and  still  own 
— a  large  palace.  In  this  connection  it  should  be 
said  that  there  have  been  three  acknowledged  saints 
in  the  family,  the  last  of  which,  he  of  Siena,  had 
a  rather  curious  history.  Some  five  hundred  years 
ago  the  gilded  youth  of  the  city  had  entered  into 
a  league  to  see  who  could  ruin  himself  first  in  the 
race  for  pleasure.  Terrible  scandals  ensued,  but 
neither  threats  nor  prayers  availed  to  bring  them 
to   better   ways.      Among   these   young   profligates 


THE   "BEATO  TARLATO '^  49 

the  Patrizi  boy  was  distinguished  for  the  wildest 
misdeeds,  the  maddest  course  of  dissipation,  until 
something — what,  precisely,  is  unknown  to  this 
day — arrested,  terrified,  and  converted  him  all  in  a 
moment.  He  embraced  a  life  of  constant  prayer 
and  severe  penance,  and,  at  the  end  of  no  more 
than  a  single  year,  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity. 
His  body  is  preserved  incorrupt,  but  much  mummi- 
fied, at  Siena,  where  he  is  greatly  venerated,  though 
not  by  his  baptismal  name.  Strangers  are  naturally 
puzzled  when  the  good  "  Sanesi "  refer  casually  to  their 
*' Beato  Tarlato,"  the  "Blessed  Moth-eaten  One "  ; 
but  the  poor  saint  is  never  called  anything  else, 
because  his  face  is  all  pitted  with  tiny  indentations 
such  as  one  sees  in  worm-eaten  wood.  When  a 
small  "  Sanese  "  is  born  into  the  world  he  is  carried 
to  the  Duomo  to  be  baptized,  and  before  returning 
home  is  always  taken  to  pay  his  respects  to  the 
"  Beato  Tarlato."  It  happened  that  one  of  the 
present  generation  of  Patrizi  children  was  born  in 
Siena,  but  the  heads  of  the  family  had  forgotten 
all  about  the  expected  visit  to  the  "  saint,''  and  the 
baby,  who  was  rather  delicate,  was  brought  straight 
back  from  the  Duomo  to  the  palace.  Then  there 
broke  forth  a  storm  of  shocked  protest — the  town 
fairly  hummed  with  indignation.  What,  a  child 
of  the  Patrizi,  born  in  Siena,  had  not  been  taken 
to  salute  the  holy  ancestor  and  receive  his  blessing  .? 
What  an  affront  to  the  good  patron  !  What  was 
the  world  coming  to  when  such  things  could  happen  ? 

4 


50  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

All  of  which,  being  faithfully  reported  to  the 
child^s  mother,  she  hastened  to  allay  the  tempest  by 
causing  it  to  be  proclaimed  that  she  wished  to  take 
the  infant  herself,  and  that  as  soon  as  she  was 
sufficiently  recovered  to  go  out  her  first  visit  should 
be  made  in  state  to  the  "  Beato.'*  The  towns- 
people, good  souls,  saw  in  this  an  unusual  zeal  for 
their  protector's  honour,  and  declared  themselves 
satisfied  ;  but  insisted  on  receiving  due  notice  before- 
hand of  the  day  and  hour  arranged  for  the  ex- 
pedition. This  was  of  course  conceded,  and  when 
at  last  the  Marchesa  drove  out,  with  the  baby  in 
her  arms,  the  whole  city  was  en  fete.  All  the  church 
bells  were  ringing  together,  garlands  and  tapestries 
decorated  the  streets,  fireworks  blazed,  and  the 
shrine  of  the  "  Beato  Tarlato  "  was  more  gorgeously 
illuminated  with  fine  wax  candles  than  it  had  ever 
been  before.  He  seems  to  have  smiled  on  the 
delicate  baby,  for  it  grew  up  as  strong  and  vigorous 
as  all  its  brothers  and  sisters  ! 

It  is  a  responsibility,  as  well  as  a  benediction,  to 
have  saints  in  the  family.  One  of  the  Gonzagas 
was  heard  to  say  that  he  hoped  their  own  list  of 
holy  ones  was  by  this  time  complete,  since  one 
more  canonisation  would  bankrupt  his  line  !  Where 
there  are  wealthy  descendants,  they  are  naturally 
expected  to  contribute  to  the  many  expenses  con- 
nected with  the  long  anterior  examination  of  facts 
and  the  great  ceremonies  of  the  crowning  function 
itself  when  this  is  decided  upon. 


THREE  PATRIZI   SAINTS  51 

In  another  town  in  Tuscany  there  is  a  Patrizi 
saint  whose  tomb  is  opened  once  every  hundred 
years.  Then  from  all  over  Italy  the  devout  gather 
to  honour  and  invoke  him,  bringing  many  rich 
offerings  to  the  church  where  his  body  reposes. 
In  the  palace  in  Rome  there  is  a  painting  showing 
the  portraits  of  the  three  holy  ancestors  on  the  same 
canvas,  but  without  distinguishing  them  by  name. 
The  central  head  in  the  picture  had  always  passed 
for  that  of  this  collateral  ancestor  until  a  short  time 
since,  when,  his  centenary  recurring,  the  young 
Marchese  (who  succeeded  his  father  some  eight 
years  ago)  was  deputed  by  his  mother  to  represent 
the  family  at  the  celebrations.  It  sounds  like  a 
trying  ordeal  for  youthful  nerves  to  preside  at  the 
opening  of  a  coffin  five  or  six  hundred  years  old, 
but  on  each  preceding  occasion  the  body  had  been 
found  absolutely  incorrupt,  and  there  was  no  reason 
to  expect  that  any  change  should  have  taken  place 
in  the  last  intervening  century.  Nor  had  it.  The 
saint  lay  as  if  just  fallen  asleep,  so  bland  and  life- 
like that  it  seemed  as  if  he  must  open  his  eyes  when 
the  unaccustomed  daylight  struck  them.  His  limbs 
and  joints  were  supple  as  those  of  a  slumbering 
child,  and  so  little  had  five  hundred  years  changed 
his  features  that  the  young  Marchese,  on  returning 
home,  pointed  out  his  real  portrait,  saying :  ''  We 
have  been  quite  mistaken.  'This  is  he — not  the  one 
we  have  always  called  by  his  name  !  " 


CHAPTER  II 

In  order  to  make  clear  the  condition  of  things  in 
Rome  during  the  closing  years  of  the  Napoleonic 
supremacy  it  is  necessary  to  touch  briefly  on  facts 
some  of  which  have  been  alluded  to  in  a  preceding 
work  of  the  translator,  "  Italian  Yesterdays."  The 
First  Consul,  from  a  variety  of  motives,  some 
doubtless  sincere,  some  purely  political,  had  under- 
taken the  re-establishment  of  religion  in  France, 
and  had  won  great  applause  for  his  pious  intentions ; 
but  the  high  hopes  founded  on  his  proclamations 
and  promises  soon  faded  away.  The  illusions  which 
Pius  VII  had  nourished  were  rudely  dispelled,  and 
the  detailed  account  of  the  Concordat  of  1801  is  the 
record  of  a  veritable  Via  Crucis  of  sorrow  and  pain. 
Nevertheless,  officially,  the  First  Consul  figured  as 
the  benefactor  and  protector  of  the  Church,  and, 
once  seated  on  the  Imperial  Throne,  traded  very 
largely  on  what  he  considered  a  valuable  asset  to  his 
credit. 

When  he  insisted  on  the  Pope's  presence  at  his 
coronation,  Pius  consented  to  attend,  in  the  hope 
that  by  personal  intercourse  it  would  be  possible  to 
do  much  for  the  reorganisation  and  improvement  of 

52 


NAPOLEON  AND  THE   POPE  53 

church  matters  both  in  France  and  Italy,  the  king- 
dom which  had  permitted  Napoleon  to  don  the  iron 
crown  of  the  Lombard  Sovereigns  before  setting 
himself  to  attain  the  imperial  one  which  had  been 
worn  by  Charlemagne.  The  incidents  of  the  coro- 
nation in  Notre  Dame  showed  with  brutal  frankness 
that  the  Emperor  intended  the  Pope  to  be  regarded 
actually  as  his  Head  Chaplain.  After  keeping  the 
venerable  Pontiff  waiting  in  the  cathedral  for  an 
hour  and  a  half,  he  crowned  himself  and  then  his 
wife — an  act  more  eloquent  of  his  real  intentions 
than  any  explicit  programme  could  possibly  have 
been.  Henceforth  Rome  was  to  be  merely  the 
second  capital  of  the  Empire. 

Pius  VII  returned  thither  after  an  absence  of  six 
months  in  great  grief  of  mind.  No  further  illusions 
were  possible,  and  the  Emperor  barely  took  the 
trouble  to  find  pretexts  for  his  systematic  encroach- 
ments on  the  papal  territories  and  for  the  persecution 
of  papal  subjects.  His  demands  were  so  arrogant 
that  not  even  he  could  have  imagined  they  would  be 
granted,  and  they  became  more  insulting  every  day. 
He  was  furious  because  the  Pope  refused  to  annul 
the  marriage  of  Jerome  with  the  American  Pro- 
testant, Miss  Patterson  ;  he  demanded  that  the 
representatives  of  Powers  hostile  to  France  should 
be  banished  from  Rome,  and  the  ports  of  the  papal 
dominions  closed  to  their  vessels  ;  he  insisted  that 
the  Pope  should  instal  Joseph  Bonaparte  on  the 
throne  of  Ferdinand    in  Naples  ;  and  his  last  pre- 


54  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

tension  was  that  France  should  have  the  management 
of  ecclesiastical  aflfairs.  He  knew  that  he  was  de- 
manding the  impossible  ;  his  own  plans  were  clearly 
defined  in  his  mind,  and  he  was  simply  invent- 
ing pretexts  for  carrying  them  out  in  the  belief 
that,  although  the  nobles  were  opposed  to  him, 
the  mass  of  the  people  would  receive  him  with 
acclamation. 

By  February  1808  the  French  troops  were  in 
possession  of  Rome  and  all  the  Roman  territories  ; 
the  Pope's  flag  had  been  removed,  whilst  the  French 
tricolor  was  raised  on  Castel  Sant'  Angelo,  and 
eight  cannon  were  planted  before  the  Quirinal 
Palace,  the  Pope's  residence.  All  prelates  and  eccle- 
siastics not  Roman-born  were  banished  from  the 
city.  By  March  3 1  General  Herbin  had  reviewed 
the  pontifical  troops,  and  despatched  them  to  Naples 
to  be  incorporated  in  the  French  army.  Several 
subjects  of  the  Holy  Father,  and  an  officer  of  King 
Ferdinand  IV  of  Naples,  had  been  shot  by  order 
of  General  de  Miollis.  Pius  VII,  while  always 
adjuring  his  subjects  to  avoid  bloodshed,  protested 
indignandy  but  in  vain  against  all  these  outrages. 
All  the  public  offices  were  filled  with  French  function- 
aries ;  the  clergy  were  required  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  usurper,  which  most  of  them 
refused  to  do  and  were  deported.  To  crown  all, 
it  was  ordered  that  Te  Deums  should  be  sung  in 
every  church  of  the  city  in  thanksgiving  for  the 
"  Liberation  of  Rome.'* 


CARDINAL  PACCA  55 

These  measures  naturally  met  with  the  most 
stubborn  resistance.  For  some  time  the  French 
authorities  had  to  turn  their  whole  attention  to 
capturing  and  disposing  of  the  recalcitrants.  The 
entire  corps  of  the  Noble  Guards  was  put  under 
arrest ;  its  commander,  Prince  Altieri,  was  im- 
prisoned in  Castel  Sant'  Angelo  ;  priests  and  offi- 
cials by  hundreds  were  deported  to  prisons  in  the 
north  of  Italy  and  in  France.  The  invaders  had 
broken  up  the  Pope's  immediate  household  some 
months  earlier,  when  Cardinal  Gabrielli,  his  Secre- 
tary of  State,  had  been  sent  into  banishment,  his 
place  being  filled  (September  1 808)  by  Cardinal  Pacca, 
the  wisest  and  most  faithful  of  all  the  PontifFs 
adherents.  Cardinal  Pacca' s  removal  being  now 
needed,  in  order  that  his  beloved  master  might  be 
deprived  of  even  moral  support,  his  rooms  at  the 
Quirinal  were  suddenly  invaded  one  day  by  a  com- 
pany of  French  soldiers,  and  he  was  told  that  he 
must  leave  Rome  within  the  hour. 

The  Holy  Father,  informed  by  his  attendants 
of  what  was  taking  place,  forgot  his  age  and  in- 
firmities, forgot  his  personal  danger,  and  flew  to 
the  Cardinal's  rescue  in  such  a  storm  of  indignation 
that  his  adversaries  seem  to  have  been  momentarily 
paralysed  into  inaction,  for  Pius  VIT  took  bodily 
possession  of  his  friend  and  carried  him  off  to  his 
own  apartments,  where  they  were  both  kept  close 
prisoners  for  ten  long  months,  cut  off  from  com- 
munication with  the  outside  world,  and  not  knowing 


56  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

from  one  day'  to  another  what  new  blow  would  be 
struck  at  them. 

The  blow  was  long  in  falling,  for,  in  spite  of 
all  that  his  rigours  could  bring  to  bear,  Napoleon 
was  still  afraid  that  if  he  laid  hands  on  the  Pope 
the  result  might  be  a  revolution  in  the  city.  So, 
many  months  were  allowed  to  pass  in  order  to 
dispel  any  apprehensions  that  might  be  afloat  as 
to  the  Sovereign's  personal  safety,  and,  when  his 
abduction  had  been  decided  upon,  every  precaution 
was  taken  to  insure  secrecy  and  despatch.  In  the 
dead  of  night,  on  July  5,  1809,  scaling-ladders 
were  set  up  against  the  windows  of  his  rooms,  and 
the  kidnapping  party  under  General  Radet  forced 
an  entrance.  The  process,  though,  was  neither  so 
silent  nor  so  rapid  as  was  hoped,  for  the  inmates 
(who  had  doubtless  learnt  to  be  very  light  sleepers 
by  that  time  !)  immediately  became  aware  of  what 
was  going  on.  The  Pope  realised  that  he  was 
about  to  be  carried  away,  and  in  those  last  precious 
moments  of  liberty,  while  his  assailants  were  scrap- 
ing their  ladders  against  his  windows,  he  thought 
only  of  his  people,  and  wrote,  with  complete  con- 
centration and  calmness,  the  famous  proclamation 
which,  confided  then  and  there  to  some  trusty 
hand,  was  printed  and  posted  all  over  Rome  by 
the  next  morning.  Torn  down  a  hundred  times, 
a  hundred  times  it  reappeared,  to  the  rage  of  the 
French  authorities,  until  every  Roman  could  almost 
repeat  it  by  heart.      For  nobility  and  simplicity,  as 


THE  ARREST  OF   PIUS  VII  57 

well  as  for  profound  Christian  feeling,  it  is  worthy 
to  rank  in  the  archives  of  humanity  with  the 
prayer  in  which  Pius  IX  poured  out  his  heart  on 
the  Scala  Santa  on  September  19,  1870. 

Pius  VII  had  been  taken  unawares  in  material 
things,  so  that  he  had  but  one  small  piece  of 
silver  money  in  his  possession  that  night.  But 
if  fate  was  trying  to  surprise  him  into  showing 
fear  or  anger  she  must  have  been  grievously  dis- 
appointed. By  the  time  Radet's  ruffians  broke 
into  the  Pontiff's  room  he  was  kneeling  at  his 
prie-dieu^  fully  dressed,  and  he  scarcely  looked 
round  at  their  entrance.  Dragged  roughly  to  his 
feet,  he  bade  farewell  to  his  weeping  attendants, 
gave  them  the  blessing  which  they  knelt  to  implore, 
and  then  he  was  hurried  downstairs,  pushed  into 
a  carriage,  of  which  the  blinds  were  already  fastened 
down  ;  the  doors  were  locked  as  soon  as  he  was 
inside,  and  then,  surrounded  by  mounted  guards, 
he  was  driven  away  at  full  speed  across  the 
Campagna,  towards  the  north. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  Pius  VII  on  this 
sad  journey.  Some  of  the  incidents  of  his  captivity 
have  been  described  in  a  former  volume,*  and 
for  us  the  chief  interest  lies  in  the  sequence 
of  events  in  Rome  after  his  departure.  For  it  was 
then  that  Napoleon  began  to  put  into  effect  the 
measures  which,  he  believed,  would  result  in  the 
Gallicising  of  Italy,  an  end  which  he  looked  upon 

*  "  Italian  Yesterdays,"  vol.  i. 


58  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

as  absolutely  necessary  to  the  stability  of  his  rule 
over  his  new  subjects.  With  this  object  in  view, 
the  heads  of  the  great  houses,  to  the  number  of 
thirty,  were  "  invited  '*  to  form  a  municipal  council 
for  the  government  of  the  city.  Various  lures  in 
the  way  of  pay  and  distinction  were  held  out, 
but  of  thirty  only  four  so  far  fell  from  grace  as 
to  accept  the  degrading  favour.  Twenty-one  never 
condescended  to  answer  the  communication  at  all ; 
but  five,  in  an  outburst  of  generous  indignation, 
refused  it  categorically  and  with  contumely.  These 
were  Altieri,  Massimo,  Barberini,  Rospigliosi,  and 
Francesco  Patrizi,  the  father-in-law  of  Cunegonda 
of  Saxony.  Prince  Altieri  had  already  drawn  upon 
himself  the  imperial  disfavour  not  only  on  account 
of  his  violently  anti-French  opinions,  but  also  by 
what  the  French  police  reports  called  his  "  ridiculous 
devotion  to  his  wife,  the  Princess  of  Saxony.'* 
Massimo  had  married  another  of  the  royal  sisters 
whom  Napoleon  so  much  disliked,  and  he  was 
able  to  strike  at  three  of  them  with  one  blow 
when  he  gave  the  order  to  have  the  five  nobles 
above  mentioned  brought  to  Paris  and  detained 
as  prisoners  for  a  year  and  a  half,  during  which 
period  they  were  ordered  to  report  themselves  to 
the  police  once  a  week. 

But  this  was  only  the  beginning.  The  conqueror's 
most  cherished  design  was  to  possess  himself  of  the 
rising  generation  in  Italy  and  completely  denation- 
alise it.     For  this  purpose  he  directed  that  a  census 


THE   "GOLDEN  LEVY'*  59 

should  be  taken  of  all  the  noble  families  of  the 
country,  from  the  highest  to  the  least  considerable, 
with  the  statistics  of  their  incomes  and  the  number 
and  names  and  ages  of  their  male  children.  Those 
who  were  grown  up,  whether  married  or  single, 
were  to  be  drafted  into  the  Garde  Imp6riale  or 
employed  in  various  offices  at  Court.  Those  whose 
education  was  not  yet  completed  were  to  be  sent  to 
different  military  schools  established  in  France, 
to  be  trained  for  service  in  the  army — at  the  expense 
of  their  parents,  although  the  latter  were  to  renounce 
all  authority  over  their  children  and  all  right  of 
interference  in  the  education  to  be  meted  out  to 
them.  The  "  Golden  Levy,"  as  it  was  called,  was 
to  include  all  nobly  born  boys,  except  those  of 
delicate  constitution,  from  the  age  of  eight  upwards. 

Every  possible  detail  had  to  be  furnished  regard- 
ing the  subjects  chosen.  Their  age,  health,  apti- 
tudes, and  general  disposition,  together  with  the 
exact  rank  and  fortune  of  their  parents,  were  all 
subjects  of  the  strictest  inquiry  ;  so  that  the  scheme 
took  a  long  time  to  organise,  and  the  Marchese 
Francesco  Patrizi  had  been  set  at  liberty  and  had 
returned  to  his  home  when  the  first  shot  was  fired, 
so  to  speak,  at  his  own  family,  in  the  shape  of  an 
intimation  to  his  son  Giovanni,  announcing  that 
General  de  Miollis  had  graciously  nominated  him 
to  have  the  honour  of  serving  "  at  the  feet  of 
H.L  Majesty  '*  in  the  Imperial  Guard  in  Paris. 

Needless  to  say,  the  "  honour  "  was  refused,  and 


6o  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

the  next  mention  of  the  Patrizi  occurs  in  a  secret 
report  from  the  head  of  the  police  in  Rome  to  the 
Due  de  Rovigo,  the  Minister  of  Police  in  Paris. 
The  report  describes,  with  almost  hysterical  alarm, 
a  pious  society  known  as  the  "  Forty  Hours,"  just 
founded  in  Rome  for  the  perpetual  adoration  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  It  was  composed  of  four 
hundred  gentlemen  who,  in  companies  of  four,  took 
turns  in  praying  all  night  in  whichever  church  was 
designated  for  the  devotion  of  the  "  Forty  Hours." 
This  struck  the  French  police  as  such  an  inexplicable 
fancy  that  they  decided  the  arrangement  must  cloak 
a  dangerous  conspiracy,  and  they  sent  the  account 
of  it  to  Paris  in  duplicate,  by  special  couriers,  one 
in  April  and  one  in  May  1810.  The  Marchese 
Patrizi  (meaning  the  elder)  was  named  as  one  of  the 
chief  leaders  and  organisers  of  the  evidently  evil- 
intentioned  band  of  plotters. 

All  the  prayers  that  were  being  put  up  in  Rome 
could  not  avert  the  next  blow  which  fell  upon  it  and 
which  convulsed  society  to  its  base.  The  census 
for  the  "  Golden  Levy  *'  had  been  taken  with  great 
precautions,  and  the  whole  scheme  kept  a  profound 
secret  until  it  was  ripe  for  execution.  Then,  in  one 
day,  a  score  of  families  were  notified  that  the 
Emperor,  in  his  great  kindness  and  clemency,  had 
named  their  boys  as  pupils  in  his  military  schools, 
a  favour  for  which  the  parents  were  to  show  their 
gratitude  by  sending  the  children  to  France  with  the 
least  possible  delay. 


THE   "GOLDEN  LEVY"  6i 

It  had  never  been  the  habit  of  the  nobles  to 
send  their  sons  away  from  home  for  their  education. 
This  was  carried  on  by  a  private  tutor  under 
their  parents'  very  watchful  eyes,  and  even  those 
who  were  attending  the  University  Courses  lived 
at  home.  The  system  continues  to  this  day. 
The  Emperor's  so-called  favours  elicited  a  tempest 
of  protest,  and  the  office  of  the  Count  de 
Tournon,  the  Prefect  of  Rome,  was  stormed  by 
distracted  mothers  imploring  him  to  intervene 
and  not  permit  their  children  to  be  taken  away 
from  them.  Theirs  was  not  merely  selfish  grief, 
or  maternal  fear  that  their  sons  would  not  be 
kindly  treated ;  their  despair  was  only  too  well 
justified  by  the  irreligion  and  immorality  of  the 
French  establishments.  The  Emperor's  decree, 
if  carried  out,  would  mean  that  every  attempt 
would  be  made  to  wean  the  young  souls  from 
Faith  as  well  as  patriotism — and  in  those  simple 
times  people  thought  as  much  about  their  children's 
souls  as  they  did  about  their  brains  and  bodies. 

Count  de  Tournon,  a  wise  and  kind-hearted 
man,  opposed  the  new  ordinance  with  all  his 
might ;  but  he  was  powerless  to  prevent  it  from 
being  carried  out.  He  had  been  tormented  for 
information  of  the  most  intimate  kind  as  to  the 
families  involved,   and  in  his  Memoirs,*   he   says  : 

*  M.  Louis  Madelin  had  access  to  Count  de  Tournon's  Memoirs, 
and  drew  upon  themjlargely  for  "  La  Rome  de  Napoleon  ;"  but  they 
are  still  unpublished,  as  are  all  other  documents  referred  to  in  this 
connection  except  the  Memoirs  of  Cardinal  Pacca. 


63  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

"  I  was  overwhelmed  with  fresh  questions.  Then, 
all  at  once,  I  received  through  the  Governor  the 
nomination  of  a  multitude  of  young  men  and 
boys  to  be  sub-lieutenants,  to  be  pupils  in  military 
schools,  to  be  pages,  etc.  The  dismay  was  over- 
whelming, and  one  cry  came  from  the  heart  of 
every  mother. 

**  I  was  appalled  by  this  act,  which  was  only 
calculated  to  estrange  the  parents  without  giving 
any  solid  guarantees  to  France  by  taking  possession 
of  a  few  children.  The  policy  of  M.  de  Rovigo 
was  carrying  us  back  to  the  most  barbarous  times. 
I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  execution  of  the 
measure,  which  was  confided  to  the  Government 
and  the  Chief  of  Police;  but  I  received  all  the 
complaints,  1  heard  the  lamentations  of  the  families, 
and  I  suffered  for  them  and  for  my  country,  upon 
which  all  the  hatred  must  fall.  I  attempted  to 
intervene,  and  did  obtain  a  few  exemptions,  but 
the  greater  number  had  to  submit." 

Poor  Count  Tournon  was  regarded  by  the  Romans 
as  a  hard  man  entirely  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
Napoleon.  They  believed  he  could  have  averted 
their  misfortunes  had  he  so  desired  ;  his  position  for 
some  years  was  a  peculiarly  odious  one,  for  it  was 
seJdom  that  he  could  obtain  any  leniency  for  people 
whom  he  pitied  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  and, 
though  he  never  failed  to  make  the  attempt,  yet  his 
communications  with  the  afflicted  families  were 
chiefly  confined  to  exhorting  them  to  submit  with 


XAVIER  AND   PHILIP  PATRIZI  63 

patience  rather  than  draw  further  disfavour  on  them- 
selves by  useless  rebellion.  It  was  not  until  the 
Marchesa  Patrizi  obtained  access  to  his  private 
papers  that  justice  was  done  to  his  memory  in 
Rome. 

In  spite  of  the  zeal  of  M.  Roederer,  the  French 
Prefect  of  Spoleto,  and  his  subordinates,  it  was  found 
impossible  to  supply  the  two  hundred  names  re- 
quisitioned from  Rome  and  Trasim^ne  (the  new 
name  for  Umbria)  for  the  French  military  schools. 
The  limit  of  age — eight  to  twelve — applying  to  that 
of  the  Prytan^e  de  la  Fleche  caused  the  number 
designated  for  that  institution  to  fall  short  of  fifteen, 
although,  as  the  lists  show,  the  Roman  families  had 
been  sifted  unsparingly.  Among  the  children  chosen 
for  La  Fleche  were  two  sons  of  Giovanni  and 
Cunegonda  Patrizi,  described  as  follows  in  the  list 
still  preserved  in  Paris  : 

^'  Patrizi,  Xavier  ;  twelve  years  old  ;  family  of  the 
ancient  nobility.  Parents'  revenues,  ten  thousand 
*  scudi  romani.'  Observation  :  in  good  health  and  of 
good  constitution ;  the  eldest  of  the  children. 

"  Patrizi,  Philip  ;  eight  years  old,  brother  of  the 
above-mentioned.  Good  health.  There  is  another 
son,  aged  ten,  who  has  delicate  health." 


The  first  summonses  in  obedience  to  the  Emperor's 
order  were  issued  on  July  9,  181 1,  when  Alessandro 


64  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

Chigi  and  Urbano  Barberini  were  called  by  imperial 
decree  to  the  school  at  St.  Germain,  two  Ruspoli 
boys,  an  Altieri,  a  Spada,  a  Sacchetti,  and  seventeen 
others  to  Saint-Cyr,  and  thirty-four  noble  children 
from  Rome  and  Trasim^ne  to  the  Prytan^e  de  la 
Flkhe.  On  the  same  day  the  Emperor  named  a 
Doria,  a  Santa  Croce,  a  Pallavicini,  an  Odescalchi,  a 
Caetani,  a  Potenziani,  and  a  Baglioni,  as  Councillors 
of  State.  Resistance  was  attempted,  but  it  was  soon 
recognised  that  reason  was  of  no  avail  when  opposed 
to  force,  and  it  resolved  itself  for  the  most  part  into 
more  subtle  attempts  to  evade  the  odious  enactment. 
Tournon  in  Rome  and  Roederer  in  Trasim^ne 
were  besieged  with  petitions  from  parents,  furnish- 
ing every  imaginable  excuse,  including  medical 
certificates,  to  demonstrate  the  absolute  necessity 
of  delaying  the  departure  of  their  children  for 
France. 

Roederer,  who  feared  above  all  things  to  appear 
wanting  in  zeal  in  carrying  out  the  orders  of  his 
imperial  master,  had  a  really  genial  inspiration.  He 
invited  the  recalcitrant  parents  of  his  district  and 
their  children  to  a  great  dinner  in  his  residence  at 
Spoleto.  The  invitation  was  gladly  accepted,  in  the 
hope  of  softening  the  Prefect's  heart  and  of  persuad- 
ing him  to  convince  his  Government  of  the  cruel 
injustice  of  the  ordinance.  The  feast  went  forward 
with  every  appearance  of  cordiality  till  the  moment 
for  the  toasts  arrived,  when  Roederer,  rising  with 
his  glass  in  his  hand,   made  a  speech  in  which  he 


TOURNON  AND  THE  LEVY  65 

wished  the  boys  a  pleasant  journey,  the  greatest 
profit  from  their  studies,  and,  when  the  time  should 
come,  the  honour  of  acquiring  world-wide  fame  in 
the  service  of  His  Imperial  and  Royal  Majesty. 
Then,  addressing  the  parents,  he  added  that, 
in  order  to  spare  them  every  inconvenience,  he 
had  ordered  for  the  following  morning  as  many 
coaches  as  would  be  required  to  convey  their  sons 
to  France. 

Roederer  was  in  no  way  averse  to  his  task,  but 
the  Prefect  of  Rome,  as  we  have  seen,  carried  out 
the  one  assigned  to  him  with  the  greatest  repugnance. 
He  could  scarcely  bring  himself  to  lend  his  aid  to 
General  de  Miollis,  and,  when  obliged  to  send  out 
the  brevets,  generally  left  the  disagreeable  task  to 
his  secretary.  The  brevets  were  distributed  any- 
how, at  intervals  of  a  few  days,  perhaps  to  minimise 
the  force  of  the  general  resistance  and  to  allay  ex- 
citement. Toarnon  was  personally  acquainted  with 
all  the  families  designated  for  the  "Leva  dorata," 
and  when  the  turn  of  the  Casa  Patrizi  came  he 
foresaw  the  most  obstinate  resistance.  Convinced 
that  this  would  seriously  affect  the  prestige  of  the 
Imperial  Government  in  Rome,  he  employed  every 
argument  he  could  think  of  to  turn  the  tempest 
aside,  insisting  almost  violently  to  General  de  Miollis 
upon  the  prudence  of  withdrawing  the  peremptory 
order,  and  on  the  other  hand  using  all  his  influence 
with  the  Marchese  Patrizi  to  persuade  him  to  submit 
to  it  quietly. 

5 


66  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

Here  is  the  exact  text  of  the  Decree  : 

"  Palace  or  Saint-Cloud, 

''July  9,  1811. 

"  Napoleon  Emperor  of  the  French,  King  of  Italy, 
Protector  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine, 
Mediator  of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  etc.,  etc. 

"  We  have  decreed  and  decree  the  following : 

"  Are  named  pupils  and  pensioners  of  our 
Prytan^e  *  de  la  Fl^che.  .  .  . 

"  Patrizi  Xavier  and  Patrizi  Philip.  .  .  . 

*'  Our  Ministers  of  War  and  of  General  Police 
are  charged  with  that  which  concerns  them 
respectively  for  the  execution  of  this  decree. 

"  Signed^ 

On   August  30,    181 1,  the  following  intimation 
was  sent  to  Palazzo  Patrizi  : 

"  The  Auditor  of  the  Council  of  State,  Prefect  of  the 
Department  of  Rome, 
"  To  the  Marchese  Patrizi. 
"  Sir, 

**  I  have  the  honour  to  inform  you  that 
H.I.  and  R.M.  has  deigned  to  name  your  sons 
Messrs.  Xavier  and  Philip  to  be  pupils  at  the  mihtary 
school  of  La  Fl^che. 

*  The  name  is  derived  from  the  building  reserved  for  the  fifty 
senators,  who  for  a  tenth  part  of  the  year,  together  with  the 
"  Archons,"  directed  the  Government  of  Athens.  They  were  called 
"  Prytanes."  The  word  "  Prytan6e "  was  usually  employed  in 
France  to  designate  a  military  school. 


ORDERED  TO  LA  FLECHE  67 

**  I  enclose  herewith  the  brevets  of  admission, 
from  which  you  can  derive  all  necessary  information 
as  to  outfit,  payments,  and  other  details. 

"  I  am  persuaded  that  you  will  appreciate  above 
all  the  benevolent  intentions  shown  by  H.M.  in 
deigning  to  select  your  family  before  others. 

**  As  the  brevets  explain  that  your  sons  are  to 
reach  their  destination  without  delay,  I  beg  that 
you  will  inform  me  of  the  precise  day  of  their 
departure,  which  must  take  place  during  the  first 
fortnight  of  September,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
furnish  me  with  their  certificates  of  baptism  made 
out  in  due  and  legal  form." 

The  communication  is  signed  by  a  deputy  of 
the  Prefect,  who  evidently  disliked  the  thought 
of  appending  his  own  name  to  the  unlucky  docu- 
ment. With  it  came  the  brevets  for  the  two  boys, 
signed  in  Paris  by  the  Minister  for  War,  the  Due  de 
Feltre. 


'*  lo  piu  non  credo  che  di  dolor  si  muoia !  "  * 
It  was  with  this  cry  of  pain  that  the  Marchese 
Giovanni  Patrizi  began  the  writing  of  his  memoirs 
a  few  months  before  his  death.  Some  years  had 
passed  since  the  day  when  he  was  ordered  to 
send  away  his  boys,  but  time  could  never  obliterate 

*  "  No  more  believe  I  men  can  die  of  grief ! " 


68  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

the   memory  of  the  despair  which    then   filled  his 
mind. 

"  I  can  declare  from  my  own  experience,"  he 
writes,  "  that  only  a  father,  a  Christian  father,  can 
conceive  of  what  I  felt  when,  on  August  7,  181 1, 
I  received  the  ominous  news  that  a  large  number  of 
the  sons  of  our  Roman  nobility  had  been  summoned 
by  an  imperial  decree  to  be  educated  in  French 
military  schools.  I  pitied  the  fate  of  the  children  no 
less  than  that  of  their  parents,  and  I  was  chilled  with 
the  fear  that  I  should  all  too  soon  be  added  to  the 
number,  overtaken  by  the  same  misfortune.  From 
day  to  day  I  expected  to  receive  the  fatal  announce- 
ment, but  1  never  ceased  to  offer  fervent  prayers  to 
Almighty  God  and  the  most  Blessed  Virgin  that  I 
might  become  childless  rather  than  renounce  my 
sacred  right  to  give  my  sons  a  Christian  education. 

**  We  are  always  ready  to  believe  in  what  we 
desire  ;  when  a  few  days  had  passed  without  bringing 
the  dreaded  announcement  there  sprang  up  in  my 
heart  the  hope  that,  by  a  singular  favour  of  Heaven, 
my  sons  were  not  included  in  the  dreadful  decree. 
And,  as  day  followed  day,  this  hope  naturally  became 
stronger,  and  I  began  to  sleep  more  tranquilly. 

"  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  August  a  note  from  the 
Prefecture  was  brought  to  our  house,  addressed  to 
the  Marchese  Patrizi.  It  was,  of  course,  intended 
for  my  father  ;  but,  as  at  that  time  his  health  was 
not  good,  and  I  had  taken  over  the  management 
of  domestic  affairs  to  relieve  him,  I  felt  authorised 


FALSE   HOPES  69 

to  open  the  missive.  I  learnt  that  the  Prefect,  or 
rather  his  deputy  (he  being  away  on  leave)  desired 
to  speak  with  the  Marchese  that  very  morning,  and 
for  this  purpose  requested  him  to  call  upon  him 
at  the  hour  he  named.  I  imagined  that  the  business 
had  to  do  with  agricultural  matters,  the  extirpation 
of  the  locusts,  or  something  of  the  kind,  matters 
for  the  discussion  of  which  we  had,  till  then,  sent 
one  of  our  stewards.  Having  no  desire  to  visit  the 
Bureaux  personally,  I  decided  to  follow  precedent, 
and  sent  on  the  note  to  the  person  who  had  hitherto 
represented  the  family  on  these  occasions.  But 
I  was  informed,  in  reply  to  my  message,  that  this 
person  was  very  ill — as  indeed  was  the  case,  for 
he  died  three  weeks  later. 

^'  Feeling  the  strongest  repulsion  myself  to  setting 
foot  in  the  offices  of  the  Prefecture,  yet  not  wishing 
to  appear  uncivil,  I  wrote  to  the  Magistrate  to  say 
that  the  Marchese  Patrizi,  being  indisposed,  could 
not  do  as  he  was  requested,  but  would  attend  to 
the  business,  whatever  it  might  be,  in  his  own 
house,  if  some  one  could  be  sent  to  him  there. 

"  I  had  dismissed  the  trifling  matter  from  my 
mind,  when,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day, 
I  happened  to  be  with  a  friend,  who  asked  me 
if  anything  new  had  taken  place  in  regard  to  my 
sons. 

*' '  Nothing,  Heaven  be  praised  ! '  I  replied.  He 
congratulated  me  on  this,  and  then  went  on  to  say 
that,  during  the  forenoon,  a  great  number  of  parents 


70  THE  PA^^RIZI   MEMOIRS 

had  been  summoned  to  the  Prefecture,  and  there 
informed  of  the  Decree  by  which  one  or  more  of 
their  children  were  ordered  to  military  schools  i'n 
France. 

**  Great  God  !  only  Thou  knowest  the  pang  that 
went  through  my  heart  at  my  friend's  words — 
for  now  I  understood  the  object  of  the  intimation 
received  that  morning.  I  turned  pale,  a  deadly 
chill  came  over  me,  and  I  left  my  friend  abruptly 
and  staggered  trembling  along  the  streets  without 
knowing  where  1  was  going.  The  thought  of 
returning  home  and  beholding  my  children  again 
filled  me  with  dread  ;  I  sought  for  some  ray  of 
solace  in  my  trouble,  and  found  none.  Nay, 
Religion  itself,  to  which  Christians  turn  for  con- 
solation in  the  heaviest  sorrows,  served  only,  as 
it  were,  to  increase  my  distress.  I  already  saw 
my  children  handed  over  to  irreligious  teachers, 
deprived  of  all  means  of  preserving  the  seeds  of 
piety  implanted  in  their  tender  hearts,  seduced  by 
pernicious  discourses,  by  wicked  examples — already 
vacillating  in  their  faith,  corrupted  in  their  lives, 
changed  in  a  short  time  from  innocent  lambs  into 
ravening  wolves  1  I  hoped,  it  is  true,  that  the 
fatherly  Providence  of  the  Almighty  would  renew 
in  their  favour  the  miracle  of  the  Furnace  of 
Babylon  ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  recognised  that 
I  could  not  reasonably  hope  for  such  a  prodigy 
unless  I  were  obliged  to  give  up  my  little  ones 
by  irresistibly  superior  force. 


LOVE'S  DECEPTIONS  71 

"  These  miserable  reflections  remained  with  me 
all  through  that  evening,  through  the  sleepless 
night  which  followed  it,  and  all  the  next  very  sad 
day.  I  only  spoke  to  a  few  friends  of  the  burden 
which  was  oppressing  me,  and  was  careful  not  to 
breathe  a  word  of  it  to  my  parents  or  my  wife. 
I  did  not  wish  them  to  share  my  affliction  a 
moment  sooner  than  should  be  necessary.  But, 
at  the  same  time,  it  was  beyond  my  powers  of 
deception  to  conceal  altogether  the  anxiety  which 
was  wringing  my  heart,  and  as  in  such  circumstances 
imagination  is  apt  to  be  active,  I  fancied,  in 
looking  at  my  dear  ones,  who  were  sad  and  silent 
because  of  my  own  unexplained  depression,  that 
they  had  heard  of  the  Decree  and  were  doing  their 
best,  through  pure  pity,  to  keep  me  in  ignorance 
of  it! 


"When  the  next  day  dawned — the  thirty-first  of 
August,  for  ever  memorable  as  the  most  unfortunate 
of  my  whole  life — my  father  sent  for  me  very 
early  to  come  to  his  apartment.  I  hastened 
thither  and  found  the  good  old  man,  his  face 
profoundly  sad,  his  voice  trembling  and  half  in- 
audible as  he  told  me  that  what  I  had  feared 
was  true.  *  Son,'  he  said,  '  in  order  to  spare 
you  a  troubled  night  I  would  not  impart  to  you, 
last  evening,  the  distressing  news  which   you  can, 


72  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

alas !  too  easily  divine,  and  which  was  brought  for 
you  yesterday  afternoon  in  these  papers.* 

**  So  speaking,  he  handed  me  a  letter.  My  hand 
shook  as  I  took  it.  It  contained  the  brevets  by 
which  my  sons  Xavier  and  Philip,  under  the 
imperial  decree,  were  named  as  pupils  at  the 
Prytan^e  de  la  Fl^che,  a  military  school  about  two 
days*  journey  from  Paris.  The  middle  of  September 
was  the  time  set  for  their  departure.  A  note  from 
the  deputy  who  was  acting  during  the  Prefect's 
absence  was  enclosed  with  the  brevets,  and  in  it  the 
official  congratulated  me — ah,  what  an  insult  ! — on 
the  honour  conferred  upon  me  by  the  Emperor. 


"  And  now  I  was  under  the  hard  necessity  of 
acquainting  the  mother  with  the  destiny  of  her 
children.  I  went  to  her,  all  my  grief  depicted  in 
my  countenance.  My  excellent  wife  had  no  pre- 
vision of  its  cause,  and  reproached  me  gently  with 
the  melancholy  of  my  bearing.  ...  I  replied  that 
it  was  not  unfounded.  In  an  instant  she  under- 
stood, and  asked,  *  Is  it  about  the  children  ?  * 

"  I  showed  her  the  brevets.  She  began  to  read 
them,  but  half-way  through  she  burst  into  a  storm 
of  weeping. 

"At  that  moment,  it  being  the  hour  when  they 
always  came  to  see  their  mother,  the  boys  and  their 
tutor  entered  the  room.  At  sight  of  them  she 
cried,  *  Oh,  my  sons,  they  want  you  in  Paris,'     The 


A  DOMESTIC   SCENE  73 

little  fellows  rushed  into  her  arms,  sobbing  pitifully. 
The  good  tutor,  utterly  overcome,  added  his  own 
no  less  passionate  tears  and  lamentations.  I  prayed 
for  courage,  and  it  was  granted  me ;  I  was  in 
extremest  need  of  consolation  myself,  but  I  had  to 
impart  consolation,  not  receive  it.  I  caught  hold 
of  my  good  little  Constantine — whose  tears,  like 
those  of  the  others,  were  raining  on  his  beloved 
mother's  face — and  told  him  that  he  was  not  in- 
cluded in  the  barbarous  order. 

"  At  that  announcement  the  innocent  little  soul 
gave  a  great  gasp  of  relief,  as  if  a  burden  were  lifted 
from  his  heart  ;  his  face  brightened,  his  tears  ceased 
— but  only  for  a  moment.  Then  he  was  weeping 
again  with  his  brothers  and  his  mother  over  their 
coming  separation.  I  made  an  effort  to  awake  in 
their  Christian  hearts  the  warmest  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  God  and  the  protection  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  instantly  they  all  began  to  pray,  brokenly 
and  with  sobs,  yet  with  entire  earnestness.  The 
devoted  mother  solemnly  offered  to  God  all  that 
she  had  suffered  to  bring  her  children  into  the 
world,  beseeching  Him  to  recall  them  to  Himself 
in  that  very  hour  and  leave  her  bereft  rather  than 
permit  them  to  be  exposed  to  the  perils  of  a  corrupt 
education.  The  boys  endorsed  the  sacrifice  of  their 
lives,  and  I,  in  the  silence  of  my  heart,  confirmed  it. 

"  But  fresh  weeping  followed,  and  I  went  in  search 
of  aid  to  stem  this  flood  of  grief — went  to  fetch  my 
own  dearest  mother,  upon  whose  heart  I  had  never 


74  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

called  in  vain.  I  found  with  her  my  cousin  Spada, 
and  our  friend  Giustiniani.  I  called  upon  her  and 
upon  them  for  help.  .  .  .  My  mother,  as  if  she  had 
had  wings  to  her  feet,  flew  to  my  apartment,  and 
reached  it  while  I,  worn  out,  was  following,  sup- 
ported in  the  arms  of  those  two  heavenly-minded 
friends  who  sought  every  means  to  comfort  me. 

"  On  re-entering  my  wife's  room  I  saw  that  my 
mother  was  holding  her  to  her  heart  and  inspiring 
her  with  the  faith  and  resignation  in  which  her  own 
was  so  rich  .  .  .  and  so  these  two,  grieving,  yet 
submitting  to  the  will  of  God,  laid  their  sorrow 
before  Him. 


CHAPTER   III 

The  Memoirs  continue  : 

**  Prince  Tommaso  Corsini  happened  to  be  in 
Rome  at  that  time,  employed  on  a  mission  for  the 
Emperor.  Himself  a  Roman,  and  the  father  of  a 
family,  he  could  not  view  with  indifference  this 
barbarous  measure,  involving  such  a  number  of  the 
children  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  it  was  rumoured 
that  he  had  made  remonstrances  against  it  in  Paris. 
Some  of  the  mothers,  relying  on  the  credit  which 
the  Prince  enjoyed  at  the  Imperial  Court,  hastened 
to  visit  him  to  implore  his  help.  My  wife,  un- 
willing to  miss  any  possible  chances  of  help,  decided 
to  do  the  same.  We  went  together  to  see  the  Prince. 
He  told  us  that  it  was  hopeless  to  look  for  entire 
exemption  from  the  Decree,  but  that  a  modification 
of  it  might  easily  be  obtained.  He  advised  us  to 
petition  that  one  of  our  sons  should  be  taken  as  a 
page  and  the  other  one  be  allowed  to  remain  at 
home  ! 

"  This  suggestion  filled  us  with  horror.  We  were 
to  voluntarily  sacrifice  one  of  our  boys  !  Never 
could  we  have  made  such  a  choice,  for  both  were 
equally  dear  to  us.     We    explained    to  the  Prince 

75 


76  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

that  we  could  not  accept  his  plan,  and  we  proposed, 
with  his  approval,  to  send  a  petition  direct  to  the 
Emperor,  asking  that  both  children  might  be  exempt, 
or,  if  that  could  not  be,  that  at  least  their  departure 
might  be  delayed  until  the  following  spring. 
Corsini  very  kindly  promised  to  see  that  the  petition 
should  reach  its  destination,  and,  as  soon  as  it  was 
written,  I  took  it  to  him  myself." 

Here  ensues  the  text  of  the  letter  to  the  Emperor. 
It  furnishes  such  a  searching  light  on  the  down- 
trodden attitude  of  even  the  proudest  Romans  under 
Napoleon's  rule,  that  it  is  worth  giving  entire  : 

"  Sire, 

"  The  honour  which  Your  Majesty  has 
deigned  to  confer  on  Xavier  and  Philip,  the  sons 
of  the  undersigned,  by  naming  them  as  pupils  at 
the  Prytanee  de  la  Fleche,  lays  upon  their  parents 
the  duty  of  expressing  to  Your  Majesty  their  most 
respectful  gratitude,  but  paternal  affection,  of  which 
Your  Majesty  knows  so  well  the  strength,  as  well 
as  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  oblige 
them  to  lay  before  the  Throne  the  following  reasons 
for  granting  the  exemption  which  is  hereby  humbly 
implored. 

*'  The  delicate  constitutions  of  the  children  would 
certainly  suffer  from  the  novel  system  of  life.  The 
hopes  founded  on  the  eldest  son  by  his  parents,  not 
only  in  the  study  of  belles-lettres,  in  which  he  is 
well  advanced,  in  regard  to  his  assistance  in  family 


PETITION  TO  NAPOLEON  77 

affairs,  but  also  in  view  of  a  suitable  marriage  which 
may  be  arranged  for  him  from  one  day  to  another, 
would  all  be  rendered  vain.  The  health  of  the 
children's  mother  has  been  very  delicate  for  years 
past,  and,  being  unable  to  undertake  a  long  journey, 
she  would  suffer  a  great  shock  in  the  separation. 

"  Should  Your  Majesty  not  see  fit  to  give  ear 
to  these  humble  remonstrances,  then  the  under- 
signed, submitting  to  Your  orders,  still  find  courage 
to  implore,  at  least,  permission  to  delay  the  children's 
journey  to  the  Mihtary  School  until  the  coming 
spring.  Their  father,  desiring  to  escort  them,  and 
being  obliged  to  put  the  affairs  of  his  house  in 
order,  could  not  undertake  the  journey  before  the 
end  of  October.  At  that  date  the  season  is  too 
severe  to  permit  of  risking  the  health  of  two 
delicate  boys  by  a  long  journey.  For  this  reason 
their  parents  ask  Your  Majesty  for  the  postpone- 
ment which  they  confidently  hope  to  obtain  from 
Your  clemency.  ..." 

The  recollection  of  our  own  early  carriage  jour- 
neys across  the  yet  untunnelled  Alps  (one,  I 
remember,  precisely  in  the  month  of  October, 
occupied  three  days  of  violent  snow-storm !)  makes 
the  last  excuse  seem  a  very  reasonable  one  ;  but, 
as  the  Marchesa  Patrizi  remarks,  one  experiences 
something  like  amazement  on  finding  the  "  possi- 
bility of  soon  arranging  a  suitable  marriage  '*  for 
a  boy  of  twelve  put  forward  as  a  serious  argument 


78  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

against  removing  him  from  home.  For  the  dis- 
tracted parents  it  must  be  pleaded  that  the  threatened 
exile  would  consume  all  the  best  years  of  their 
sons'  youth,  and  thus  mar  all  plans  for  their 
future,  and  the  case  was  sufficiently  desperate  to 
justify  any  argument  that  could  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  it. 

Z^ooking  at  it  all  now,  a  hundred  years  later,  one 
wonders  that  Giovanni  and  Cunegonda  Patrizi  should 
have  hoped  for  a  single  moment  that  Napoleon  would 
hearken  to  their  appeal.  They  were  representatives 
of  the  old  stiff-necked  aristocracy  which  disdained 
to  recognise  his  supremacy  in  anything  but  over- 
whelming force,  and  they  were  closely  connected 
with  the  Bourbons,  whom  he  was  teaching  the 
world  to  forget.  On  September  17  a  note  from 
the  Director-General  of  Police  was  sent  to  the 
Palazzo,  asking  that  the  Marchese  Patrizi  would 
call  at  the  Prefecture  that  morning.  Without 
saying  anything  to  his  son,  Giovanni*s  father  obeyed 
the  summons,  for  in  his  journal  Giovanni  writes  ; 
"When  I  came  to  table  that  day  I  saw  that  my 
mother  was  inwardly  disturbed,  and  that  my  father's 
expression  was  even  sadder  than  usual.  I  did  not 
divine  the  cause,  but  this  melancholy  of  the  elders 
rendered  the  meal  silent  and  mournful.  When  it 
was  ended  my  father  turned  to  me  and  told  me  that 
a  note  had  come  which  was  intended  for  me,  but 
that,  wishing  to  spare  me  the  pain  of  an  interview 
with    the    Director   of  Police,  he    had    taken  upon 


/ 


THE  DIRECTOR  OF   POLICE  79 

himself  to  go  to  the  Prefecture  in  my  stead.  He 
went  on  to  relate  how  the  Director  had  urged  him 
to  send  his  grandchildren  away  at  once,  to  which 
he  had  replied  that  the  matter  was  in  the  hands  of 
their  father,  who  alone  had  the  right  to  dispose 
of  them.  The  official  had  insisted  that  their  grand- 
father, as  head  of  the  family,  was  equally  responsible, 
and  represented  that,  as  our  house  was  by  no 
means  in  the  good  graces  of  the  Government,  it 
would  be  only  prudent  to  refrain  from  any  exhibi- 
tion of  repugnance  to  obeying  the  imperial  orders, 
lest  such  sentiments  should  bring  serious  trouble 
upon  us. 

"  To  this  my  father  replied  that  he  could  not 
understand  what  the  Government  found  to  com- 
plain of  in  our  conduct,  since  we  kept  ourselves 
entirely  apart  from  public  affairs  and  lived  like 
quiet,  respectable  citizens  in  the  retirement  of  our 
own  home.  The  Director  condescended  to  say  that 
our  respectabiHty  at  least  left  nothing  to  complain 
of  (what  benignity  !)  But  he  then  went  on  to  insist 
so  strongly  on  the  necessity  of  submission  that  my 
good  father,  unable  to  resist  such  pressure,  and 
perhaps  alarmed  by  the  other's  threats,  was  reduced 
to  asking  a  postponement  only  till  the  end  of 
September,  to  which  the  Director  replied  gaily, 
*  A  la  bonne  heure !  '  and  granted  the  enormous 
favour  of  thirteen  days*  grace  !  " 

The  young  Marchese  was  by  no  means  pleased 
with   this    new   turn    of    affairs,    which    bore    the 


8o  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

appearance  of  his  implied  consent  to  parting  with 
his  children  ;  he  at  once  set  every  machinery  to 
hand  in  motion  to  obtain  at  least  sufficient  delay 
for  him  to  receive  an  answer  to  the  petition  he  had 
sent  to  the  Emperor  in  Paris.  Through  a  French- 
man named  Gerard,  who  was  high  in  favour  with 
General  de  Miollis,  and  who  had  already  rendered 
friendly  service  to  the  Patrizis,  the  Marchese 
Giovanni  obtained  a  kind  of  unofficial  permission 
to  absent  himself  on  his  estates  (where  his  presence 
was  urgently  needed  at  this  season  of  the  year) 
and  was  further  told  by  the  friendly  Gerard  not 
to  disturb  himself  if  further  effiarts  were  made 
to  hasten  the  departure  of  his  children,  but  at 
once  to  notify  Gerard  himself  of  anything  of 
the  kind. 

Thus  a  couple  of  weeks  passed  quietly,  and  then 
with  the  return  of  Count  Tournon  to  Rome,  came 
another  summons  to  the  Prefecture.  It  was  October 
2,  and  the  anxious  father  went  thither,  recom- 
mending his  children's  cause  to  the  Blessed  Angel 
Guardians,  whose  Feast  it  was.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  real  battle  :  a  long  and  bitter  one  for 
Patrizi,  in  which  his  personal  liberty,  family 
ties,  home,  and  revenues  were  destined  to  be 
sacrificed  for  years,  and,  as  many  would  have  said, 
in  vain. 

Count  Tournon  received  his  visitor  with  the 
greatest  urbanity,  but  begged  him  to  name  a  day  for 
the  children's  departure,  since  he  was  himself  being 


A  BATTLE  OF  WILLS  8i 

pressed  by  General  de  Miollis  to  furnish  him  with 
the  precise  date  on  which  they  would  be  sent  away 
from  Rome. 

'*  I  replied,"  the  Marchese  writes,  **  that  I  was 
still  waiting  for  the  answer  to  the  petition  I  had  sent 
to  the  Emperor.  I  also  represented  that,  as  I  had 
received  the  orders  quite  twenty  days  later  than 
many  others  who  had  not  yet  sent  their  sons  to 
France,  it  appeared  just  that  mine  should  not  be 
forced  to  precede  them.  Also  that  I  was  absolutely 
obliged  to  be  away  from  Rome  and  on  my  father's 
estates  for  business  matters  all  through  the  month  of 
October,  by  which  epoch  I  could  not  expose  my  boys 
to  the  cold  of  a  journey  across  the  Alps  ;  all  which 
considerations  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  take 
them  to  France  before  the  spring. 

"  The  Prefect  showed  great  alarm  at  this  proposi- 
tion, and  assured  me  it  was  useless  to  hope  for  any 
result  from  my  petition.  He  said  that  I  could 
easily  find  a  reliable  escort  for  my  children  if  I  could 
not  accompany  them  myself ;  but  that,  after  all,  the 
winter  would  not  be  so  far  advanced  as  to  render  a 
journey  impossible.  He  told  me  he  thought  I 
might  obtain  permission  to  delay  it  till  the  end  of 
November,  or  even  of  December — but  till  the 
spring  }     No,  that  was  out  of  the  question  ! 

'*  He  then  entreated  me  to  name  an  early  date  for 

the  fulfilment  of  the  order,  holding  out  hopes  that 

promptness  in  this  might  gain  entire  exemption  for 

one  child  at  least.     But,  as  I  was  not  dazzled  by  the 

6 


82  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

prospects  he  held  out,  I  repeated  that  I  had  already 
named  the  earliest  date  possible  for  the  journey, 
adding  that  .  .  .  nothing  would  induce  me  to  de- 
prive myself  of  my  natural  right  to  direct  the 
education  of  my  children." 

To  this  the  Prefect  replied  that  the  measure  was 
intended  as  a  correction  to  the  ultra-clerical  education 
given  to  boys  in  Rome  ;  whereupon  the  Marchese 
retorted  that  that  education  was  adapted  to  their  in- 
dividual needs  ;  that  those  who  wished  to  embrace 
the  ecclesiastical  life  were  assisted  to  do  so,  and 
those  whose  careers  were  to  lie  in  the  world  en- 
joyed every  facility  for  following  the  necessary 
studies. 

But  this  assertion  the  Prefect  combated  hotly, 
insisting  that  there  was  **  too  much  Church  "  in  the 
whole  programme,  and  that,  although  that  might  be 
advantageous  for  the  next  life,  it  was  of  very  little 
use  in  this.  Then,  apparently  wishing  to  soften  the 
impression  he  had  made,  he  went  on  to  say  that  it 
was  no  order,  but  an  invitation  which  the  Emperor 
had  sent,  and  that,  if  some  parents  chose  to  decline 
it,  they  need  not  fear  that  the  gendarmes  would  be 
sent  to  their  houses  to  enforce  it — this  was  not  a 
conscription  ! 

The  Marchese,  now  thoroughly  angry,  said  that, 
if  it  was  merely  an  invitation,  he  was  free  to  accept 
or  refuse  as  seemed  good  to  him  ;  but  the  diplomatic 
Prefect  reminded  him  that  royal  invitations  differed 
greatly  from  private  ones,  and  that  to    refuse  this 


A   ROYAL   "INVITATION"  83 

would  certainly  involve  the  family  in  further  mis- 
fortune. Having  already  shown  itself  adverse  to 
the  new  order  of  things,  it  was  not  looked  upon  with 
favour. 

The  Marchese  replied  :  "  No  misfortune  that 
could  happen  to  a  father  could  be  worse  than  that  of 
losing  his  children." 

"  And  how  can  you  say  you  are  losing  them," 
exclaimed  the  Prefect,  **  in  sending  them  where  the 
Emperor  wishes  .? " 

**  I  consider  them  lost  when  I  cannot  bring  them 
up  according  to  my  principles,"  was  the  answer. 

The  Prefect  protested  that  Patrizi  must  be 
regarding  France  as  another  Turkey,  and  en- 
larged on  the  flourishing  condition  of  religion 
there,  more  flourishing,  he  declared,  than  it  was 
in  Rome  ! 

*'  I  am  willing  to  believe  it — and  am  glad  to  learn 
that  it  is  so,"  replied  the  Marchese,  very  politely  ; 
"  but  permit  me  to  say  that  I  can  perceive  no 
intention  of  benevolence  in  the  act  of  the  Emperor, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  a  very  clear  one  of  inflicting  a 
heavy  punishment  on  our  family." 

"  You  are  quite  mistaken,"  Count  Tournon 
declared.  ^'  The  children  of  nobles  who  have 
given  in  their  adhesion  and  are  actually  holding 
employment  under  the  Government  have  been  sent 
for  as  well  as  yours."  And  with  much  kindness 
he  begged  Patrizi  to  regard  him  now  as  a  friend 
and  not    as    an  official,   since  he    was   really  trying 


84  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

to  persuade  him  to  give  in  solely  for  his  own 
good. 

But  the  other  was  not  to  be  shaken.  With  calm 
obstinacy  he  repeated  his  assertions  that  he  could 
fix  no  earlier  date  than  the  following  spring  for 
carrying  out  the  mandate,  and  the  Prefoct,  between 
the  desire  to  help  his  friends  and  the  necessity  of 
obeying  orders,  accused  the  Patrizis  of  making  open 
war  on  the  new  Government  and  the  Emperor ;  on 
being  told  that  people  who  lived  apart  from  public 
affairs  in  the  retirement  of  their  own  homes  could 
scarcely  be  accused  of  "  making  war,"  the  Prefect 
made  the  startling  assertion  that  war  was  of  two 
kinds,  positive  and  negative,  and,  after  describing 
the  positive  sort,  declared  that  the  conduct  of  the 
Patrizis  in  refusing  every  offer  of  public  employ- 
ment fully  justified  the  accusation  of  making  war  in 
the  negative  fashion  ! 

The  Marchese  replying  that  he  and  his  father 
had  followed  what  they  considered  their  duty,  his 
opponent  pointed  out  that  such  ideas  were  vastly 
displeasing  to  the  authorities  ;  that  history  was  full 
of  the  disasters  people  had  brought  upon  them- 
selves by  similar  conduct  ;  and  he  attempted  once 
more  to  dazzle  the  Marchese  by  enumerating  the 
distinguished  posts  he  might  yet  fill  if  he  would  be 
reasonable. 

Patrizi's  curt  reply  that  nothing  would  ever 
induce  him  to  alter  his  decision  in  that  regard 
evoked  a  sharp  speech  from  Count  Tournon  to  the 


THE   PREFECT   IS   PATIENT  85 

effect  that,  the  new  order  of  things  being  firmly 
and  completely  established,  it  was  useless  for  the 
Marchese  to  permit  regrets  for  his  old  Sovereign 
to  prevent  him  from  accepting  engagement  under 
the  Emperor.  Patrizi  was  too  proud  to  reply  to 
this  almost  taunt,  but  in  his  heart  he  cried  :  "  If 
ever  I  forget  you.  Holy  Father,  may  my  right 
hand  forget  her  cunning  !  ** 

The  Prefect  understood  that,  in  the  face  of  such 
obstinacy,  there  was  no  more  to  be  done  ;  with  a 
return  of  his  charming  manner,  he  ajffected  to  wipe 
the  whole  preceding  conversation  out  of  existence 
by  saying  that  the  next  morning  he  would  send 
to  Palazzo  Patrizi  to  know  the  day  decided  upon 
for  the  children's  journey  to  Paris,  and  dismissed 
his  visitor  with  smiling  cordiality. 

"  And  so,"  continues  the  Marchese  in  his 
Memoirs,  "  I  came  away,  grateful  to  the  Prefect 
for  all  his  politeness,  but  more  grateful  to  Heaven 
for  having  given  me  strength  to  reply  as  I  had 
done,  and  also  more  determined  than  ever  to  combat 
the  Emperor's  designs  on  those  who  were  dearest 
to  me." 

Punctually  the  next  morning  the  Prefect's  message 
arrived,  and  the  Marchese  replied  to  it,  as  he  tells 
us,  with  joyful  malice,  in  terms  so  ambiguous  that 
they  left  his  intentions  as  to  moving,  even  in  the 
following  spring,  shrouded  in  uncertainty. 

On  October  7  the  patient  Prefect  issued  another 
invitation  to  an  interview,  which  seems  to  have  had 


86  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

no  effect,  for  on  the  loth  ot  the  same  month  we 
find  the  Marchese  leaving  Rome  to  attend  to  affairs 
in  two  of  his  father's  fiefs,  Castel  Giuliano  and  Sasso, 
where  his  presence  was  peremptorily  required,  several 
leases  having  expired,  and  new  tenants  being  in- 
stalled on  the  farms.  Patrizi  had  feared  that,  during 
his  absence,  heavy  pressure  might  be  brought  to 
bear  on  his  father,  and  that  the  latter,  less  resolute 
in  nature  than  his  son,  might  yield  some  point 
which  would  compromise  future  action  ;  so  he  gave 
instructions  that  all  communications  of  whatever 
kind  should  be  taken  straight  to  his  wife,  who 
promised,  for  her  part,  to  answer  nothing  until 
his  own  return  to  the  city.  Nevertheless,  he  says 
it  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  he  went  through  all 
the  wearisome  business  of  inventories,  and  so  forth, 
and  that  all  his  thoughts  turned  to  what  might 
be  taking  place  at  home  ;  although  he  felt  a  great 
unwillingness  to  go  back,  having  a  presentiment 
that  his  reappearance  would  be  the  signal  for  some 
new  and  unexpected  stroke  of  ill-fortune. 

He  remained  away  until  October  29.  When 
he  reached  home  he  found  that  his  forebodings 
were  not  without  justification.  An  imperious 
and  very  ill- written  letter  (some  of  the  employes 
of  the  Government  were  distinctly  illiterate)  had 
arrived  for  him  on  October  23.  It  was  signed 
by  a  deputy  of  the  Prefect,  and  mentioned 
November  15  as  the  latest  date  allowed  for 
the  departure  of  his  sons. 


PATRIZI  DEFIES  MIOLLIS  87 

A  few  days  later  came  another,  from  de  MioUis 
himself,  addressed  to  Cunegonda,  he  having  under- 
stood that  she  was  now  in  charge  of  the  boys. 
In  amazingly  bad  French  he  told  her  that,  if  her 
own  health  did  not  permit  of  her  accompanying 
her  sons  to  France,  she  had  better  at  once  find 
some  responsible  person  to  take  them,  adding  that 
promptness  in  the  matter  might  have  some 
favourable  influence  on  the  position  of  "  M. 
Patrizi/' 

It  was  a  veiled  threat,  but  Patrizi  was  there  to 
answer  for  himself  The  proud  Roman's  blood 
was  up  ;  weary  of  attempting  to  pacify  his  per- 
secutors by  speaking  of  a  possible  departure  in 
the  spring,  he  haughtily  refused  to  have  his 
children  taken  away  from  himself  and  their  mother, 
adding  sarcastically  that,  since  he  was  told  to  regard 
the  Emperor's  order  as  a  "  favour,"  he  could  not 
imagine  that  the  favour  was  to  be  forced  upon 
him  against  his  will.  He  wound  up  by  saying 
once  more  that  nothing  should  shake  his  deter- 
mination to  superintend  the  education  of  his  sons 
himself. 

This  called  forth  an  intimation  from  the 
Director  of  the  Police,  on  November  10,  to  the 
effect  that,  unless  the  young  Patrizis  had  left 
Rome  by  the  25th,  their  father  would  be 
**  obliged  "  to  accompany  them  to  Paris  and  remain 
there  under  surveillance  himself.  The  Marchese 
wrote  a  reply  which,  by   this   time,  both    he  and 


88  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

the  authorities  must  have  known  by  heart. 
Repeating  all  the  reasons  already  adduced  for 
his  decision,  he  absolutely  refused  to  give  up  his 
children,  and  added  that,  as  nothing  could  shake 
his  resolution,  he  awaited  with  resignation  such 
measures  as  the  authorities  might  see  fit  to  take 
in  regard  to  himself 


CHAPTER   IV 

"On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth  of 
November,"  Giovanni  writes,  "  I  had  been  to 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Mary  to  assist 
at  the  Office  of  the  day.  When  this  was  over 
I  was  coming  out  of  the  Oratory  by  way  of  the 
sacristy  when  I  met  one  of  my  servants,  and  saw 
by  his  face  that  he  was  no  bearer  of  good  news. 
He  handed  me  a  note  which  proved  to  be  a 
police  order  to  leave  Rome  with  my  sons  the 
next  day.  The  charming  intimation  closed  with 
threats  of  very  stern  measures  should  I  persist  in 
my  resistance,  and  I  was  informed  that  the 
necessary  passports  were  being  forwarded  to  me. 
My  servant  told  me  that  these  had  been  brought 
by  Signor  Pelucchi,  a  Commissary  of  Police,  who 
was  now  waiting  for  me  in  my  house. 

"  I  remained  to  hear  Mass,  God  knows  in  what 
agitation  of  mind,  and  then  hurried  home,  ponder- 
ing by  the  way  on  what  action  1  was  to  take, 
upon  what  answers  I  should  give.  I  felt  that  now 
the  question  of  resistance  or  submission  would  turn 
on  the  strength  or  weakness  of  my  wife.  My 
own  heart  would  have  inclined  to  resistance,  but 
I  realised  that  prudence  might  counsel  differently. 

89 


90  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

"  On  reaching  home  I  went  to  my  wife's  room, 
and  my  first  words  were  :  *  Well,  what  ought  I 
to  do  ?  *  Without  hesitation  she  replied  that  we 
must  resist  to  the  very  last,  and  her  courage  re- 
kindled my  own.  Invoking  the  aid  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  I  hastened  to  where  the  Commissary  was 
waiting  for  me  on  the  floor  above.  He  had  the 
passports  in  his  hands.  I  told  him  that  I  had 
repeatedly  explained  to  the  authorities  my  firm  in- 
tention of  remaining  where  I  was,  and  that,  in 
consequence,  the  passports  were  useless  to  me,  and 
I  would  not  receive  them.  Much  surprised,  Signor 
Pelucchi  exclaimed,  *  You  will  not  accept  them  ? ' 
*  No,'  I  said.  He  then  represented  that  he  ought 
to  make  a  proch  verbal  of  my  refusal,  and  I  asked 
if  a  personal  note  from  me  to  the  Director  of  Police 
would  answer  the  purpose.  On  his  affirmation  I 
returned  to  my  wife's  room  to  write  it,  and  she 
came  to  meet  me,  asking  anxiously  about  the  result 
of  the  colloquy  upstairs.  Her  eyes  bore  traces  of 
the  tears  she  had  been  shedding  at  the  foot  of  the 
crucifix  while  praying  that  I  might  be  strengthened 
in  this  struggle.  When  I  related  what  had  occurred 
she  was  filled  with  consternation.  I  wrote  the  note 
and  took  it  to  the  Commissary,  who,  on  receiving 
it,  exhorted  me  in  whispers  to  give  way  in  order 
to  avoid  the  distress  which  my  obstinacy  would  draw 
down  upon  me.  ...  At  last  he  withdrew. 

"  After  these  events  I  expected  to  be  arrested  and 


THE   GATHERING  STORM  91 

carried  away  with  my  children  that  same  night,  which 
was  anything  but  a  tranquil  one,  although  by  a 
special  grace  of  Heaven  I  could  anticipate  the  coming 
blow  with  imperturbability.  On  the  morning  of 
the  twenty-fifth  I  arose,  and,  nothing  new  having 
happened,  went  out  very  early  to  church  in  order 
that  those  who,  as  I  foresaw,  might  enter  my  room 
and  force  me  to  leave  at  any  moment  should  not 
have  to  send  out  into  the  city  to  seek  me,  as  had 
happened  the  day  before.  Hours  passed  .  .  .  to- 
wards midday  I  went  out  again,  sure  that,  on  return- 
ing to  the  house,  I  would  find  it  full  of  armed  men. 
But  I  was  quite  mistaken.  All  was  quiet.  We  sat 
down  to  table,  and  I  confess  that  I  dined  with  a 
very  good  appetite. 

"  The  meal  was  scarcely  over  when  a  servant, 
evidently  much  frightened,  informed  me  that  a 
French  officer  was  in  the  ante-room  asking  to  speak 
with  me.  Every  one  was  alarmed  except  myself. 
Again  praying  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  I  went  out 
to  see  what  was  wanted  of  me,  and  found  the  captain 
of  the  gendarmes,  De  Filippi,  who,  with  the  greatest 
courtesy  and,  as  he  explained,  to  his  own  profound 
regret,  said  that  the  Director  had  ordered  him  to 
tell  me  that,  if  I  insisted  any  further  in  refusing  to 
leave  Rome,  forcible  measures  would  be  applied  to 
me  in  person.  I  replied  that  I  could  not  reconsider 
my  decision,  and  was  prepared  for  everything. 

"  *  But  I  have  terrible  orders,'  De  Filippi  said. 


92  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

**  *  I  am  in  their  hands,'  I  replied ;  *  they  can 
shoot  or  guillotine  me,  but  they  cannot  make  me 
change  my  mind.' 

"  *  You  and  your  sons  will  be  deported  this  very 
night,'  said  he. 

" '  I  really  trust  that  I  shall  be  granted  a  few 
hours  in  which  to  make  my  arrangements,'  I 
protested. 

"  De  Filippi  continued,  with  all  kindness,  to  insist 
on  his  point,  and  then,  feeling  that  he  had  better 
understand  me  once  for  all,  I  spoke  in  a  prouder 
tone  and  told  him  that  I  should  not  recede  from 
my  decision  even  in  the  face  of  death  ;  that  Almighty 
God,  as  well  as  Nature,  had  given  me  the  undeniable 
right  to  direct  the  education  of  my  children  ;  that 
I  would  show  there  were  still  Romans  in  Rome, 
and  would  demonstrate  to  the  whole  of  Italy  that 
the  pretended  honour  conferred  by  the  Government 
was  in  reality  a  monstrous  infliction.  I  confess  that 
it  would  have  been  perhaps  better  not  to  say  all 
this,  as  it  was  quite  useless  ;  but  in  the  heat  of 
passion  it  is  not  possible  to  measure  every  word 
one  speaks. 

"  Then  the  honest  soldier  relinquished  his  attempt 
in  despair,  and  I  thanked  him  most  sincerely  for  the 
gentleness  and  consideration  with  which  he  had 
carried  out  his  most  unpleasant  commission. 

**  I  cannot  describe  how  quiet,  almost  happy,  I 
felt  after  this  i  terview.  I  went  into  the  next  room 
where  my  parents,  my  wife,  and  some  faithful  friends 


PATRIZI   IS  ARRESTED  93 

were  anxiously  awaiting  its  result  ;  and  I  turned  all 
my  efforts  towards  calming  and  encouraging  them. 
I  made  sure  that  my  arrest  and  deportation  would 
take  place  that  night  ;  but  nothing  came  to  disturb 
us,  and  when  the  twenty-sixth  of  November  dawned 
1  was  still  safe  in  my  own  house. 

"  The  day  passed  without  incident,  and  when  the 
evening  came  I  bade  good-night  to  my  wife,  who 
was  preparing  to  retire,  and  told  her  to  sleep  peace- 
fully, since  I  was  sure  nothing  untoward  would 
happen  that  night.  The  event,  however,  unfortun- 
ately, did  not  justify  my  prophecy. 

'*  Having  parted  from  my  wife,  I  repaired  to  my 
mother's  apartment,  where  supper  was  about  to  be 
served.  To  this  I  sat  down  with  my  parents,  my 
sister,  the  Rev.  Stefano  Monticelli,  and  our  friend, 
Parisani.  The  Chevalier  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani 
and  Signor  Carlo  Collicola  were  also  with  us.  The 
meal  had  scarcely  begun  when  a  servant  informed 
me  that  a  French  official  wished  to  speak  with  me. 
1  rose  from  the  table,  but  before  I  could  reach  the 
door  I  saw,  standing  in  the  doorway,  a  '  Marechal 
de  Logis  '  of  gendarmes,  who  said  that  the  Governor 
wished  to  see  the  Marchese  Patrizi.  At  these  words 
my  beloved  father,  full  of  eagerness  to  suffer  in  my 
stead,  pretended  to  think  the  summons  was  for 
him,  as  no  Christian  name  had  been  mentioned,  and 
rose  from  the  table,  intending  to  answer  it  in  person. 
1   had  instantly   understood  its   meaning,  and  fore- 


94  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

stalled  him  by  preparing  to  follow  the  officer  at 
once.  He,  however,  was  amiable  enough  to  let  me 
finish  my  supper  first,  and  meanwhile  I  thought  of 
ordering  my  carriage,  so  as  not  to  keep  the  Governor 
waiting.  But  the  gendarme  said  that  was  unneces- 
sary, the  Governor's  carriage  having  been  sent  to 
fetch  me.  A  profound  gloom  had  fallen  on  the 
whole  party.  I  kissed  the  hands  of  my  dear  parents, 
whom  I  hoped  to  see  again  within  an  hour,  took 
leave  of  my  sister  and  our  friends,  and,  accompanied 
by  my  new  guardian,  started  out  to  meet  my 
destiny." 

It  was  two  years  before  Giovanni  Patrizi  beheld 
those  loved  faces  again  ! 

"  A  little  way  down  the  stairs,"  he  relates,  **  I 
found  another  gendarme  posted  as  sentry,  and  two 
or  three  more  below,  when  I  reached  the  front  door. 
Emerging  from  the  house  with  this  novel  variety  of 
escort,  I  was  surprised  to  see  that  the  promised 
carriage  was  not  there.  The  Marshal  explained  that 
it  was  waiting  a  little  way  off,  and  then  led  me  to 
the  right,  a  movement  which  led  me  to  suspect  that 
it  was  not  the  Governor's  palace,  but  the  Castel 
Sant'  Angelo,  that  was  my  destination.  In  this  I 
was  wrong,  for  a  vehicle  which  had  been  waiting 
at  a  little  distance  drew  up  to  the  steps  of  San 
Luigi  dei  Francesi.  It  proved  to  be  a  *  carretella  ' 
(a  kind  of  buggy)  to  which  three  horses  were 
harnessed,  a  clear  indication  of  a  long  journey  in 
prospect.     I  was  not  left  any  longer  in  doubt  when 


DEPARTURE  FROM  ROME  95 

my  guardian  told  the  driver  to  take  the  road  to 
Civita  Vecchia. 

*'I  entreated  the  gendarme  to  send  up  word  to 
my  family  that  they  must  not  expect  me  back  that 
night.  They  would  hear  my  real  fate  soon  enough 
next  day  ! 

"  I  flattered  myself  that  the  gendarme  had  com- 
plied with  my  request,  for  he  muttered  something  to 
one  of  his  comrades.  Of  his  words  I  caught  but  one 
distinctly,  '  children.'  At  once  I  was  filled  with  fear 
that,  after  capturing  me,  the  next  step  would  be  to 
take  possession  of  those  innocent  ones.'' 

Here  follows  a  characteristically  Italian  remark  to 
the  effect  that  those  who  read  the  journal  will 
imagine  that  at  this  point  the  writer  "  shed  floods  of 
tears,  and,  in  a  voice  broken  with  sobs  and  sighs, 
called  on  the  beloved  names  of  country,  parents,  wife 
and  sons,  from  whom  I  was  being  barbarously  torn 
away  !  Such  would  indeed  have  been  the  case  had 
not  Heaven  come  to  my  assistance,  causing  me  to 
become  like  an  immovable  rock  under  the  fierce 
blows  of  persecution.  I  can  honestly  say  that  I  did 
not  lose  my  tranquilHty.  On  the  contrary,  in  that 
terrible  moment  a  supreme  peace  and  serenity 
reigned  in  my  heart,  so  that  when  we  had  gone  a 
little  way  I  began  to  joke  with  my  keeper  about  the 
stratagem  he  had  employed  to  seize  me.  But  one 
cloud  darkened  my  sky  :  my  painful  anxiety  about 
the  fate  of  my  children.  My  imagination  fixed  on 
the  word  I  thought  I  had  heard,  depicted  the  terrible 


96  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

tragedy  which  might  at  that  very  hour  be  taking 
place  in  my  house  ;  I  heard  in  fancy  the  cries  and 
laments  of  my  wife,  of  my  sons,  of  my  father  and 
mother  in  the  stress  of  that  cruel  moment.  I 
imagined  these  tender  little  beings  confided  for  the 
journey  to  the  care  of  a  stranger,  perhaps  of  a  rough 
soldier.  At  one  moment  I  thought  they  might  be 
following  me  on  the  road  to  Civita  Vecchia,  at 
another  that  they  were  perhaps  even  now  being 
hurried  along  the  Via  Flaminia,  so  as  to  meet  me 
and  my  gaoler  at  Viterbo  or  some  other  point  on  the 
road  to  France.   .  .  ." 


Giovanni  Patrizi's  message  was  never  delivered  to 
his  family.  The  little  circle,  anxious  to  know  the 
result  of  the  interview  with  General  de  Miollis, 
waited  in  vain  for  his  return.  At  last  it  was  decided 
to  send  to  the  Governor's  residence  to  inquire  for 
him,  and  the  good  Signor  Collicola  offered  to  act  as 
messenger.  He  hastened  to  the  Palazzo  Doria  only 
to  be  told  that  the  Governor  was  at  the  theatre.  At 
the  theatre  he  learnt  that  the  Governor  had  left,  and 
so  returned  to  Palazzo  Doria.  After  trying  to  track 
him  for  some  time,  he  was  curtly  informed  that  the 
Marchese  Patrizi  was  "  travelling."  At  once  grasping 
the  meaning  of  this  information,  he  resolved  to  keep 
it  to  himself,  for  that  night  at  least,  and  on  his  return 
to   Palazzo  Patrizi  his   depressed    and   mysterious 


ON  THE   HIGH  ROAD  97 

demeanour  led  the  family  to  suppose  that  Giovanni 
had  been  taken  to  Sant'  Angelo,  a  mistake  which 
Collicola  did  not  correct.  That  was  bad  enough,  but 
the  truth — that  Giovanni  was  being  spirited  away  to 
some  unknown  prison — was  so  much  worse  that  his 
friend  had  not  the  heart  to  disclose  it. 

By  some  means,  however,  it  became  known  in  the 
house  next  morning,  first  to  his  parents,  and  then, 
through  her  mother-in-law,  to  Cunegonda.  The 
blow  was  as  terrible  as  it  was  unexpected,  and  it 
required  all  their  fortitude  to  meet  it  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  their  faith  and  race.  The  poor  little  boys, 
realising  that  they  were  the  cause  of  the  trouble, 
were  terribly  afflicted,  but  tried  in  their  childish  way 
to  follow  the  example  of  their  elders'  patience  and 
resignation. 


It  was  a  bitterly  cold  night.  The  light  buggy 
with  its  three  horses  rattled  and  bumped  through 
the  darkness  for  some  five  or  six  hours  with- 
out a  halt,  and  the  unfortunate  prisoner,  called 
from  his  supper  to  pay  an  evening  visit,  and  quite 
unprovided  with  extra  wraps,  suffered  horribly  from 
the  cold  before  the  first  halt  was  called  at  Monterone 
towards  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  place 
was  but  a  tiny  hamlet  serving  as  a  posting-station 
about  half-way  between  Rome  and  Civita  Vecchia. 
"  Here,"  says  the  Marchese,  "  I  imagined  that  we 

7 


98  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

should  change  horses,  but  it  turned  out  that  the 
halt  was  intended  merely  to  rest  those  we  had.  I 
alighted  from  the  carriage,  and  we  entered  a  room 
contiguous  to  the  stable  ;  here  a  roaring  fire  was 
burning,  and  nine  or  ten  peasants  were  sleeping  on 
the  floor  around  it,  their  feet  all  turned  to  the 
flame.  Others,  who  probably  considered  themselves 
too  distinguished  for  such  a  position,  were  sleeping 
in  bunks  against  the  wall.  The  fire  was  most  con- 
soling, for  I  was  chilled  to  the  bone.  Still  imagining 
we  should  get  fresh  horses,  I  was  somewhat  surprised 
at  the  long  halt  we  were  making,  and  I  began  to 
fancy  that  we  were  waiting  to  permit  my  sons  and 
their  captors  to  rejoin  us  here.  The  thought, 
though  it  had  caused  me  painful  anxiety  hitherto, 
now  brought  comfort  ;  it  would  have  been  most 
sweet  to  have  those  dear  little  companions  on  my 
journey,  however  alarming  the  goal  !  Already  I 
pictured  their  arrival  at  this  dark  den  ;  their  tears 
and  their  fears,  and  the  joy  with  which  I  would 
take  them  into  my  arms  to  comfort  and  sustain 
them  with  all  the  authority  of  a  father  !  " 

Giovanni  Patrizi,  although  the  most  sincere  and 
warm-hearted  of  men,  had  a  distinct  sense  of  dra- 
matic fitness,  and  in  every  circumstance  he  shows 
himself  naively  anxious  to  extract  all  the  aroma 
possible  from  every  situation.  It  is  a  characteristic 
of  the  Latin  races  which  has  drawn  forth  much 
adverse  comment  from  Northerners,  who  are  loud 
in  asserting  that  it  denotes  shallowness  of  feeling. 


^*^*^ 


AARCHESE    GIOVANNI    NARO    PATRIZI. 

In  the  Robes  of  the  Senator  of  Rome. 


THE   LATIN  TEMPERAMENT  99 

Nothing  could  be  more  unjust.  The  Latins  live  in 
the  fullest  light  of  family  publicity,  comparing  their 
thoughts  and  sentiments  on  every  subject  that 
comes  up  with  a  frankness  that,  among  us,  would 
result  in  angry  discussion,  but  that  serves  their 
more  expansive  temperament  in  good  stead.  They 
do  feel,  deeply,  and  consider  it  no  reproach  to  have 
it  known.  They  enjoy  drama,  it  is  true  ;  they 
seem  to  be  born  for  it  ;  but  they  have  no  self- 
consciousness,  and  the  Englishman's  nervous  terror 
of  "  looking  like  a  fool "  if  he  betrays  the  slightest 
emotion  is  incomprehensible  to  them.  En  passant  I 
must  remark  that  the  everlasting  repression  of  all 
demonstration  of  feeling  with  us  has  resulted,  in 
many  circles,  in  the  killing  of  feeling  altogether  ! 
We  are  nothing  like  so  loving  or  so  faithful  to 
family  and  friends  as  are  the  Latins.  Nowhere 
in  these  times  is  the  tie  between  parents  and 
children,  brothers  and  sisters,  so  strong,  so  tender, 
so  enduring  as  among  the  people  of  southern 
Europe. 

This  little  digression  is  meant  to  explain  why 
Giovanni  Patrizi  so  carefully  notes  down  his  own 
words  and  actions  on  all  important  occasions,  as  if 
to  assure  himself,  when  looking  back  on  them,  that 
his  deportment  throughout  has  been  unassailable. 
Even  while  waiting  in  the  miserable  posting-house 
at  Monterone,  torn  with  anxiety  about  his  boys, 
he  was  careful  to  imake  the  right  impression,  and 
tell   us  that  he  began  to  walk  about  the  waiting- 


100  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

room  with  brisk,  free  steps,  humming  softly  to 
himself,  in  order  that  all  might  understand  that 
prisoners  of  his  stamp  knew  as  little  of  cowardly 
discouragement  as  they  knew  of  guilt. 

After  a  long  delay,  during  which  the  Marchese 
seems  to  have  given  up  his  hopes  and  fears  of 
being  rejoined  by  his  sons,  the  journey  was  resumed, 
the  gendarme  having  thoughtfully  filled  all  the 
bottom  of  the  carriage  with  hay  to  keep  their 
feet  a  little  warmer  than  they  had  been  on  the 
way  down.  The  moon  had  set  ;  the  night,  though 
still,  was  intensely  dark  ;  and  the  road  onwards 
from  Monterone  was  notoriously  infested  with 
brigands  and  malefactors  of  all  kinds.  Only  two 
mounted  guards  had  accompanied  the  carriage  so 
far,  and  one  of  them  was  now  ordered  to  ride  on 
quickly  and  notify  the  authorities  at  Civita  Vecchia 
of  the  approach  of  the  prisoner.  His  companion, 
on  leaving  Monterone,  tied  his  horse  to  the  back 
of  the  carriage  and  climbed  up  beside  the  driver, 
his  loaded  carbine  ready  for  use.  The  Marchese 
frankly  acknowledges  that  the  idea  of  finding  him- 
self the  central  figure  under  a  rain  of  bullets  did 
not  add  to  the  charm  of  the  journey,  and  he  decided, 
if  a  skirmish  should  take  place,  to  declare  himself 
a  prisoner,  an  announcement  which  he  evidently 
thought  should  secure  for  him  the  sympathies  of 
the  attacking  party. 

He  and  his  guards  were  not  molested,  however, 
and  in  the  grey  of  the  dawn  Civita  Vecchia  loomed 


AT  CIVITA   VECCHIA  loi 

up  in  the  distance.  By  eight  o'clock  on  that  cold 
November  27  Napoleon's  supremacy  had,  for  the 
time,  no  more  to  fear  from  Giovanni  Naro  Patrizi, 
he  being  under  lock  and  key  in  the  fort.  The 
dangerous  rebel  was  longing  for  an  hour  of  rest 
and  privacy  after  the  fatigues  and  emotions  of  the 
night.  He  had  to  walk  up  and  down  on  the  drill- 
ground  for  some  time  before  obtaining  it,  but  then, 
to  his  great  satisfaction,  he  found  that  he  was  to 
have  the  turnkey's  comfortable  room,  all  the  others 
being  crowded  already.  In  order  to  reach  it  he 
had  passed  another  of  which  the  door  stood  open, 
and  there  he  recognised  several  Roman  friends  who 
had  vanished  more  or  less  recently  from  their 
accustomed  haunts  in  town.  Rejoiced  at  his  luck, 
he  attempted  to  leave  his  room  to  greet  them, 
but  the  Concierge  stopped  him,  saying  that  orders 
had  been  issued  forbidding  him  to  have  communi- 
cation with  other  prisoners.  This  was  a  great 
disappointment,  but  the  Marchese  took  it  philoso- 
phically, and  only  asked  permission  to  write  to  his 
family  and  also  to  send  a  note  to  one  Bucci,  the 
steward  of  the  palace  which  his  mother  owned  in 
Civita  Vecchia. 

So  a  long  letter  was  despatched  to  Rome,  and 
in  it,  to  his  infinite  credit,  Patrizi  gave  quite  a 
roseate  account  of  his  experiences,  dilated  on 
the  comfort  of  his  quarters — in  fact,  said  every- 
thing possible  to  cheer  and  comfort  the  anxious 
ones   at    home,  winding   up,    quaintly   enough,    by 


102  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

asking  for  **  some  linen  to  provide  for  the  cleanli- 
ness of  the  body,  and  some  books  of  devotion 
to  comfort  the  spirit."  The  letter  was  despatched 
by  the  returning  gendarme,  and  a  note  was  con- 
veyed to  Bucci  instructing  him  to  supply  the 
prisoner  with  food  and  other  necessaries,  including 
a  bed. 

"  I  was  quite  resigned  to  the  decrees  of  Heaven," 
Giovanni  writes,  "  and  was  congratulating  myself 
on  being  so  well  lodged,  close  to  the  family  of 
the  Concierge,  who  was  only  anxious  to  serve  me 
in  every  way,  when  the  good  man  entered  my 
room,  with  downcast  countenance  and  evident 
reluctance,  to  inform  me  that  another  apartment, 
very  different  from  this  one,  had  been  assigned 
to  me.  This  amazed  me  a  good  deal.  The  Con- 
cierge said  the  change  would  be  made  that  after- 
noon. 

**  At  the  appointed  hour  I  was  conducted  thither 
.  .  .  and  found  it  to  be  a  tiny  cell,  one  of  a  series 
looking  out  on  a  covered  loggia.  The  window 
was  about  twenty  inches  broad  and  thirty  high, 
filled  with  a  frame  of  glazed  cotton — which,  how- 
ever, admitted  a  certain  amount  of  light.  A  broken 
fireplace,  bare  walls,  smeared  with  smoke  and  oil, 
and  ornamented  with  scrawls  of  charcoal  and  im- 
pressions of  filthy  fingers — and,  hanging  from  the 
blackened  ceiling,  cobwebs  which  I  calculated  must 
date  from  the  days  of  Numa  and  Ancus  Martius  ! 
In    this   lurid   den  I  found  a  beautifully   arranged 


COMFORTS   IN  A  CELL  103 

bed,  which  the  excellent  Bucci  had  brought  from 
the  Palazzo  Montoro,  and  by  the  end  of  the 
second  day  the  tiny  room  was  supplied  with  every 
comfort  it  could  contain,  from  the  same  source. 
It  suggested  the  idea  of  a  rough  peasant  dressed  in 
the  elegant  garments  of  a  Parisian  dandy  !  " 


CHAPTER   V 

The  Marchese*s  Journal  continues  : 

**  When  the  Concierge  had  transferred  me  to  my 
new  room  he  locked  me  in,  and  a  sentinel  was 
stationed  outside  the  door,  with  orders  to  keep  a 
strict  watch  night  and  day  so  that  no  one  should 
approach  to  speak  to  me.  In  looking  around  on 
my  new  dwelling-place  and  comparing  my  so-called 
crime  with  the  punishment  it  had  drawn  down  upon 
me,  I  could  not  refrain  from  amused  laughter  ! 

"In  order  not  to  forget  that  I  was  a  Christian  I 
asked  for  the  loan  of  some  book  of  devotion  pending 
the  arrival  of  such  provision  from  Rome.  In  answer 
to  my  request,  the  golden  book  of  St.  Ignatius* 
Spiritual  Exercises  was  put  into  my  hands,  and  at 
once  I  conceived  the  idea  of  turning  my  imprison- 
ment to  advantage  by  making  a  spiritual  Retreat.  I 
resolved  to  begin  the  next  day,  and  to  that  end  I 
mapped  out  a  careful  schedule  for  the  regulation  of 
my  time.  Would  that  I  had  indeed  profited  by  this 
grace  of  Heaven  for  the  good  of  my  soul  ! 

"  On   the  twenty-eighth   of  November,  while    I 

was  occupied  in  these  spiritual  exercises,  I  heard  the 

grating  of  the  prison  gates  and  was  honoured  by  a  visit 

104 


NEWS  FROM  HOME  105 

from  the  Mayor  of  Civita  Vecchia,  Signor  Capotti, 
who  was  accompanied  by  the  Commissary  of  Police 
and  by  Signor  Guglielmi,  to  whom  we  had  rented 
the  Montoro  Palace  in  the  town.  The  courteous 
Mayor  did  everything  possible  to  show  his  considera- 
tion, and  begged  me  to  tell  him  if  there  were  any- 
thing that  I  desired.  The  only  request  I  proffered 
was  that  I  might  be  put  into  another  room.  The 
visit,  though  most  polite,  was  an  extremely  brief  one, 
probably  because  the  Mayor,  a  man  of  elegance  and 
refinement,  could  not  bring  himself  to  sit  down  in  such 
a  room — and,  in  that,  I  could  sympathise  with  him  ! 

"Although,  by  the  favour  of  Heaven,  I  still 
enjoyed  my  accustomed  interior  tranquillity  during 
my  imprisonment,  the  thought  of  my  children  was 
never  absent  from  my  mind,  and  my  uncertainty  as 
to  their  immediate  destiny  kept  me  in  much  sus- 
pense. Hence  it  is  impossible  to  express  my  relief 
when,  on  November  the  twenty-eighth,  I  received, 
together  with  a  valise  full  of  necessaries,  a  letter 
from  my  wife,  in  which  she  informed  me  that,  so 
far,  nothing  new  had  transpired  in  regard  to  the 
beloved  objects  of  my  solicitude.  My  first  act  was 
to  render  profound  thanks  to  the  Almighty  for  this 
precious  favour,  and  then  I  offered  up  my  own  life 
to  perpetual  imprisonment  if  by  such  a  sacrifice  I 
could  save  those  innocent  young  souls  from  the 
education  we  so  much  dreaded  for  them. 

"  During  the  first  two  days  of  my  incarceration, 
writing  materials  were  doled  out  to  me  for  a  few 


io6  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

moments  at  a  time,  as  the  orders  were  that  I  was  not 
to  be  allowed  to  write  letters  at  all.  Permission  was 
accorded,  however,  for  a  few  letters  to  my  own 
family,  and  an  occasional  note  to  our  good  Bucci  at 
the  Palazzo  Montoro  ;  but  all  these  communications 
I  had  to  leave  open,  to  be  read  by  the  authorities. 
When  the  letter  or  the  note  was  written,  the  pen 
and  ink  were  instantly  removed  1  After  three  days 
I  managed  to  retain  firm  possession  of  them,  but  the 
rigours  of  the  censorship  continued  unabated.  The 
thing  which  I  found  most  hard  to  bear  in  my  new 
mode  of  life  was  the  complete  deprivation  of  the 
comforts  of  religion.  On  December  the  ist,  the 
First  Sunday  of  Advent,  I  heard  repeated  salvoes  of 
artillery,  which  announced  the  anniversary  of  the 
Emperor's  coronation  ;  but  I  could  not  hear  Mass 
either  on  that  day  or  any  other  during  my  detention 
at  Civita  Vecchia,  as  the  Holy  Sacrifice  had  been 
prohibited  in  the  fortress. 

"  Another  trouble,  and  not  a  light  one,  was  caused 
from  the  situation  of  my  room.  It  was  surrounded 
by  others  filled  with  a  goodly  number  of  refractory 
conscripts  awaiting  in  Civita  Vecchia  their  departure 
to  Sicily.  It  was  not  wronging  these  young  fellows 
to  say  that  their  training  left  much  to  be  desired  ; 
from  the  break  of  day  till  late  in  the  evening  they 
filled  all  that  part  of  the  building  with  shouting, 
singing,  and  quarrelling,  and  the  heavy  tramping 
of  their  feet  never  ceased  outside  my  door. 

'*  On  December  the  2nd  Signor  Giulio  Guglielmi, 


COMPENSATIONS  107 

our  tenant,  who  had  already  paid  me  several 
visits,  brought  mc  the  welcome  news  that  he  had 
obtained  permission  from  the  commander  of  the 
fort  for  my  transfer  to  another  room.  So  I  returned 
to  the  one  I  had  first  occupied,  and  found  great 
pleasure  in  looking  out  once  more  at  earth  and  sky 
after  having  had  barely  a  glimpse  of  the  latter  for 
four  days.  Guglielmi  promised  also  to  procure 
permission  for  me  to  take  a  little  exercise,  a  thing 
which  was  absolutely  necessary  for  my  health. 

"  Although  in  my  new  quarters  I  was  not  so 
closely  guarded  as  before,  still  I  was  forbidden  to 
hold  communication  with  any  one  except  my  jailers, 
and  the  Concierge  was  made  responsible  for  the 
carrying  out  of  the  order." 

And  here  we  must  transcribe  the  first  letter  of  the 
Marchesa  Cunegonda  to  her  husband  ;  it  is  written 
on  a  tiny  piece  of  paper,  yellow  now  with  age,  and 
bears  the  marks  of  having  been  folded  into  the 
smallest  possible  space.  It  was  the  first  of  hundreds 
that  the  loving  wife  was  to  write  before  she  saw 
Giovanni's  face  again,  and  it  was  more  successful 
in  reaching  its  destination  than  the  greater  part 
of  those  that  followed  it.  From  the  family  corre- 
spondence it  appears  that  Bucci,  the  Patrizi  steward 
at  Civita  Vecchia,  managed  to  convey,  though  with 
great  difficulty,  several  missives  to  his  master,  with 
such  secrecy  that  they  escaped  the  observation  of 
his  lynx-eyed  guardians,  and  great  was  the  comfort 
they    brought   to   the    lonely    prisoner.     This    first 


io8  THE   PATRIZI    MEMOIRS 

one,  folded  to  almost  infinitesimal  size,  was  prob- 
ably concealed  within  a  loaf  of  bread,  all  the  food 
for  the  Marchese  being  furnished  from  Palazzo 
Montoro.  It  is  pathetic  in  its  almost  incoherent 
simplicity  and  tenderness. 

'*  What  can  I  say  to  you,  Giovanni,  my  dear  ? " 
writes  Cunegonda  on  November  27.  *' You  know 
me  well  enough  to  understand  all  that  I  want 
to  express.  My  greatest  trouble  is  the  thought  that 
you  are  suffering  anxiety  about  the  children  and  me  ; 
I  entreat  you,  as  a  favour,  to  set  your  mind  at  rest. 
The  blow  has  fallen  on  you — God  will  give  you 
strength  and  will  not  permit  us  to  be  tempted  above 
our  strength.  I  am  in  a  frenzy  to  have  news  of 
you,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  be  able  to  give  it 
yourself.  Assure  me  that  you  are  well,  that  you 
are  tranquil  ;  courage,  my  dear,  courage  !  God  is 
for  us,  our  Mother"  (Mamma  nostra,  the  Blessed 
Virgin)  "  is  for  us  ;  what  have  we  to  fear  ?  The 
children  weep,  and  that  is  natural  ;  but  they  are 
well,  and  they  understand  how  greatly  they 
are  beholden  to  you  ;  do  not  think  of  me.  God 
will  help  me  ;  I  am  thinking  only  of  you,  and  when 
I  can  be  assured  that  you  have  not  lost  your  calm- 
ness and  courage  I  shall  be  satisfied  ;  remember  that 
all  my  happiness  depends  on  you.  Already  Maria 
Agnese  *  knows  all,  let  that  suffice  you.     Farewell, 

♦  She  appears  to  have  been  Giovanni's  sister,  a  religious  in 
the  Dominican  convent  at  Magnanapoli,  spoken  of  earlier  as 
"Maria  Vincenza." 


WORST  FEARS   REALISED  109 

my  dearest  Giovanni,  I  glory  in  being  the  wife  of 
a  Confessor  of  Christ  ;  this  will  tell  you  all  that  I 
have  in  my  heart." 

This  letter  was  followed  by  another  written  in 
the  same  tone  of  calm  fortitude,  but  the  next  after 
that  brought  news  which  filled  the  Marchese  with 
grief  and  apprehension.  It  was  written  in  duplicate, 
one  copy  intended  for  the  eyes  of  the  censor  of  the 
fortress,  the  other,  long  and  confidential,  reached 
him  secretly.  His  fears  for  his  children  were  to 
be  confirmed  at  last ;  the  hope  that  his  own 
imprisonment  might  buy  their  safety  was  now 
proved  to  be  vain. 

On  December  2  his  wife  writes  : 

"My  dear  Giovanni, 

"  On  Saturday  afternoon  the  Commissary, 
Pepe,  came  to  me,  and,  in  the  name  of  the  Minister- 
General  of  Police,  informed  me  that  I  must  send 
away  our  two  boys  on  the  8th  inst.  I  replied  that 
I  was  merely  the  guardian,  not  the  master  of  my 
sons,  and  that,  in  the  absence  of  their  father,  I 
could  not  dispose  of  them.  This  morning  the 
Commissary  returned,  bringing  word  from  the 
Director-General  that  it  was  quite  true  that  I  was 
not  the  master  of  the  children  so  long  as  my 
husband  was  in  Rome  ;  but  that,  he  being  away, 
it  was  my  duty  to  dispose  of  them,  and  that,  if 
I  refused  to  do  so,  the  '  Mairie '  would  be  responsible 
for    naming   a   person   to   accompany  them.      The 


no  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

Commissary  is  to  return  to-morrow  at  midday  for 
my  answer.  Giovanni  mine,  I  have  sought  counsel, 
particularly  with    the   two    persons  for  whom   you 

have  such  a  great  esteem,  S and  L .     They 

were  unanimous  in  their  opinion  that  forcible 
measures  have  been  decided  upon,  and  will  be 
put  into  operation  ;  that,  by  permitting  the  children 
to  go  away  with  a  stranger,  we  should  be  voluntarily 
renouncing  the  right  and  the  power  which  God  has 
given  us  over  them,  a  thing  that  conscience  forbids 
us  to  do.  So,  to-morrow,  I  shall  tell  Pepe  that 
I  cannot  consent  to  confide  the  children  to  another 
person  ;  but,  also,  that  I  do  not  wish  to  take  a 
journey  without  my  husband,  and  that  I  request 
that  he  should  be  brought  back  to  Rome  with 
the  same  force  with  which  he  was  taken  to  the 
fortress ;  and  I  also  request  that  the  Director- 
General  will  see  that  my  husband  receives  the  letter 
in  which  I  have  manifested  to  him  my  resolution. 
I  am  exceedingly  anxious  that  this  (the  private  one) 
should  reach  you  before  that  other  which  you  will 
receive  through  the  police,  in  order  that  you  may 
be  fully  informed  of  everything,  and  be  tranquil 
in  mind,  for  these  are  wise  counsels,  given  according 
to  God,  and  thus  you  will  perhaps  be  able  to 
answer  me  freely  and  fully.  Not  so,  however,  in 
regard  to  the  letter  you  will  receive  through  the 
police ;  on  the  contrary,  I  pray  you  to  respond 
to  that  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  Good-bye, 
my  Giovanni ;  I  have  no  time  to  write  more.    I  hope 


LETTERS  FROM  CUNEGONDA  iii 

to  see  you  again,  soon,  and  then  we  can  talk  with 
more  ease.     What  days  !     God  be  blessed  !  " 

Here  is  the  official  letter  intended  for  the  eyes 
of  the  Police  : 

"My    dear    Husband,  Royi^,  December  z. 

**  Last   Saturday     the     Signor    Commissario 

came  to  inform  me  that  I  was  to  arrange  to  send 

the   children    to    Paris ;    I    replied    that    I    had    no 

authority  save  that  of  a  guardian,  and  could  decide 

on    nothing    during  your  absence.      Yesterday   the 

same  Commissary    returned    to   tell    me,   from    the 

Director-General,  that  I    was  to  accompany   them 

myself ;    otherwise  the    *  Mairie '   would    designate 

some  other  person   for   that  charge.     True  to  our 

maxim  of  never   confiding  our  children   to   others, 

I    replied    this    morning   that    I    was    ready    to   go 

with  them,  but  that  I  wished  the  Director-General 

would   kindly  put  yesterday's  message   in  writing, 

so  that    I    might    send   it  to   you.     Also    I   asked 

for   your    return,    in    order   that   you   also    might 

accompany  the  children.      In  this  moment  I  learn 

that    the     Director-General     refuses    to    put    the 

message  in  writing,   as  I   had  requested  ;  but  says 

that  I    am    to    tell    you    to   write    to    him    asking 

that   you    may  be  brought  back  here  in  order    to 

accompany    the     boys.       He     promises     that    this 

letter  shall  reach  you.     This  much  I  communicate 

in  haste,  and  am,  with  all  attachment, 

"  Your  most  affectionate  wife, 

"CuNEGONDA    OF    SaXONY    PaTRIZI." 


112  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

The  Marchese  received  both  his  wife's  letters, 
the  private  one  reaching  him  first,  as  she  intended. 
The  news  caused  him  great  distress.  **  This 
unexpected  blow,"  he  says  in  his  diary,  *'  struck 
me  to  the  heart,  and  my  hand  trembled  as  I 
wrote,  in  few  words,  to  my  wife,  that  1  was 
ready  to  carry  out  her  wise  and  Christian 
counsels.  Besides,  the  thought  of  having  her 
companionship  on  the  journey  mitigated  my  sorrow, 
for  until  now  she  had  hesitated  to  undertake  it, 
on  account  of  her  variable  health.  On  that  same 
day  the  Commandant  of  the  fort,  M.  Callo,  a 
Piedmontese,  came  into  my  room  to  give  me 
permission  to  enjoy,  for  two  hours  every  day, 
a  promenade  on  the  bastions  of  the  fortress, 
excluding  the  parade-ground,  however  ;  forbidding 
me  to  speak  with  any  one,  and  adding  that  I 
should  always  be  under  the  vigilance  of  a  sentinel. 
At  once  I  took  advantage  of  the  grace  accorded 
me,  but  the  letter  I  had  received  in  the  morning 
prevented  my  feeling  the  pleasure  which  I  should 
otherwise  have  had  in  this  solace. 

"  On  the  5th  I  received,  through  the  Roman 
police,  the  official  letter  of  my  wife,  in  which  she 
begged  me  to  ask  the  Director-General  that  I  might 
be  brought  back  to  Rome  in  order  to  travel  with 
her  and  our  children.  I  carried  out  her  wishes  in 
a  letter  to  the  Director,  written  on  the  6th. 

"  Towards  dusk  of  that  day  I  heard  proclaimed 
in  the  rooms  next  to  mine  the  arrival  of  a  number 


z 

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o 


OLD   FRIENDS  GREETED  113 

of  new  inmates,  all  men  of  the  best  society.     They 
were  the  '  Curiali '  of  Rome  "  (here  follows  a  long 
list    of  names    of  lawyers  who,  having  refused  to 
take  the  required  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Emperor, 
had  been  detained  for  several  months  in  the  Castle 
of  Sant'  Angelo  and  were   now  brought  to   Civita 
Vecchia,  to    be    sent   from    there  to  the  Island  of 
Corsica).      "  I  felt  the  greatest   desire    to  embrace 
such  of  my  friends  as  were  among  the  new  prisoners, 
but  the  vigilance  with  which   1   was  guarded  gave 
me  no  hope  of  doing  so.     Very  soon  I  perceived 
that  supper  was  being   prepared    for   them    in    the 
next  room,  and,  hearing  them  so  near,  I  came  close 
to  the  door  of  my  cell  to  have  the  consolation  at 
least  of  seeing  through  the  cracks  these  true  Christian 
heroes  "  (our  famous  compromisers  of  to-day  would 
call   them   at  the   very  least  foolish   intransigeants), 
*'  since  I  could  not  press  them  to  my  heart.     The 
first  whom  I  saw  enter  was  the  excellent  Belli,  with 
whom   I    was  particularly  acquainted.       With    him 
were  others,  but  not  all  the  party,  since  the  table 
was  too  small  to  accommodate  them  all  at  a  time. 
The  sight  of  them  made  me  more  than  ever  anxious 
to  greet   them.     The    good    Concierge    must   have 
divined  my  wish,   for    soon  afterwards  he    entered 
my  room,  saying   that  he   would   allow   me    to  go 
into  the  other  one  to  show  myself  to  my  colleagues. 
"  On    the    instant    I    left   my   retreat   and    threw 
myself  on  the  neck  of  my  friend    Belli   and   that 
of  the  excellent  Ceccacci.     The  vivacious  Gasparri 
8 


114  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

was  there  also,  with  Benedetti  and  others.  .  .  .  After 
the  first  greetings  they  told  me  that  they  had  not 
expected  to  find  me  still  in  Civita  Vecchia,  but 
had  hoped  to  meet  me  on  the  road  returning  to 
Rome,  a  Commissary  of  Police  having  informed 
them  that  my  affair  was  all  arranged,  and  that 
probably  that  very  day  I  should  be  able  to  return 
home.  This  announcement  gave  me  the  greatest 
pleasure.  .  .  . 

**  When  our  short  interview  was  over  I  returned 
to  my  own  room.  I  learnt  later,  to  my  horror,  that 
those  twelve  ornaments  of  the  Roman  Curia,  on 
account  of  the  late  hour  of  their  arrival,  had  not 
been  able  to  procure  beds  from  their  acquaintances 
in  the  town  (who,  however,  furnished  them  the  next 
day),  and  had  been  obliged  to  sleep  on  straw  in  two 
miserable  ground-floor  rooms  from  which  they  were 
not  transferred  for  some  days.  The  morning  after 
their  arrival,  distressed  at  the  thought  of  the  horrible 
night  those  incomparable  men  must  have  passed, 
I  should  have  wished  to  bring  them  all  into  my  own 
room  had  such  a  thing  been  possible.  If  not 
altogether,  I  was  at  least  consoled  in  part,  for  the 
obliging  Concierge  allowed  me  to  take  in  Belli  and 
Giorgi.  In  order  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  my 
being  in  solitary  confinement,  my  guests'  beds  had 
to  be  returned  to  their  own  prison  in  the  morning, 
to  be  brought  back  to  mine  at  night  after  the 
fortress  was  closed.  To  tell  the  truth,  after 
the  advent  of  these  legal  captives,  my  solitary  con- 


SOCIAL  RELAXATION  115 

finement  was  reduced  to  a  mere  farce,  one  or  the 
other  being  constantly  in  my  apartment,  although 
always  on  the  alert  for  fear  of  getting  the  poor 
Concierge  into  trouble  should  some  one  of  the 
authorities  pay  us  an  unexpected  visit.  But  when 
once  night  had  fallen,  and,  the  fortress  being  closed, 
there  was  no  danger  of  any  one's  coming  to  disturb 
our  peace,  then  all  or  most  of  the  councillors  as- 
sembled in  my  room  ;  one  or  two  tables  of  *  ombre ' 
or  '  bezique '  were  organised,  and  very  pleasant 
hours  were  passed. 

"  A  few  days  later,  the  order  for  my  solitary 
confinement,  which  from  the  constant  infractions 
had  become  purely  imaginary,  was  officially  rescinded, 
and  I  received  permission  to  move  about  and  speak 
with  whom  I  pleased.  The  only  person  who  had 
great  difficulty  in  approaching  me  was  my  Bucci " 
(the  steward).  ''  The  assiduous  and  charitable  assist- 
ance he  always  rendered  to  the  prisoners,  particularly 
if  they  were  ecclesiastics,  caused  the  new  Government 
to  suspect  him  of  too  strong  an  attachment  for  the 
old  one,  a  state  of  things  which  rendered  access  to 
the  fortress  very  difficult  for  him.  During  all  my 
stay  in  Civita  Vecchia  I  only  succeeded  in  seeing 
him  five  or  six  times,  and  his  wife,  whom  the  Mayor 
was  kind  enough  to  bring,  once. 

"  Following  the  letter  I  had  sent  to  the  Director- 
General  of  Police  in  Rome,  I  expected  every  day 
to  be  recalled  to  the  Seven  Hills,  and  the  Mayor, 
who  favoured  me  with  many  visits,  always  told  me 


ii6  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

that  my  return  was  close  at  hand — that  he  was  expect- 
ing the  notification  of  the  order  with  every  courier  who 
arrived.  On  December  the  8th  this  anticipation  had 
become  so  confident  that  not  only  did  the  Mayor 
assure  me  that  I  should  be  set  at  liberty  on  that  day, 
without  fail,  not  only  did  the  Commissary  of  Police 
announce  the  fact  publicly,  but  my  excellent  Bucci 
had  made  all  his  arrangements  and  prepared  a  bed 
for  me  in  his  house.  In  any  case  I  would  not  have 
availed  myself  of  his  hospitality,  having  promised  to 
stay  with  Signor  Giulio  Guglielmi.  He  himself  had 
to  leave  for  Monte  Romano  on  the  8th  on  private 
business,  but  he  had  charged  his  wife  to  have  every- 
thing in  readiness  for  me,  and  had  asked  a  friend  of 
his  to  conduct  me  to  the  house.  But  the  8th  passed 
by  ;  the  9th  found  me  still  in  the  fortress  ;  also  the 
loth  and  nth,  and  several  days  more,  and  I  con- 
tinued to  carry  on  my  quiet  and  cheerful  existence 
in  the  good  company  of  my  amiable  fellow  prisoners. 
"  Several  days  had  passed  without  bringing  me 
any  news  from  home,  when,  on  the  morning  of 
the  1 6th,  just  as  I  had  sat  down  to  write  to  my 
wife,  and  had  written  but  a  word  or  two,  there 
entered  my  room  the  same  man  who  had  twice  before 
been  sent  to  me  from  Rome.  He  handed  me  a  letter, 
but  I  perceived  from  his  expression  that  it  could 
contain  no  good  news.  It  was  written  in  the  name 
of  my  wife,  but  the  handwriting  was  that  of  my 
friend  Parisani.  At  the  beginning  were  a  few 
words  inscribed  by  the  trembling  hand  of  my  father : 


LEAVING  CIVITA   VECCHIA  117 

*  I  embrace  you  and  I  bless  you  !  Your  most  loving 
father  ! '  The  date  was  of  December  the  15  th,  and 
the  contents  informed  me  that  our  Maestro  di  Casa 
(steward)  had  that  morning  been  summoned  by  the 
Director-General  of  Police,  who  ordered  him  to  send 
me  that  very  evening  a  coach  and  five  hundred 
scudi  in  money  ;  the  Director  added  that  a  gen- 
darme would  go  with  the  carriage  to  escort  me  to 
Lyons.  The  letter  mentioned  that  the  Director  had 
advised  that  I  should  take  warm  clothes  with  me,  on 
account  of  the  cold  at  Lyons,  and  that  this  led  my 
family  to  suppose  that  I  was  to  be  detained  in  that 
place. 

"  The  letter  had  been  sent  on  in  haste  in  order 
that  I  might  not  be  taken  by  surprise  on  the  arrival 
of  the  gendarme.  My  good  wife  concluded  it  with 
a  few  words  in  her  own  writing,  as  trembling  and 
convulsed  as  that  of  my  father  :  '  Farewell,  my 
Giovannino.  Your  most  loving  wife,  Gondina.* 
Even  our  friend's  writing  betrayed  his  agitation. 
I  cannot  deny  that  this  blow  struck  me  very 
heavily.  As  soon  as  I  had  read  the  sad  epistle  I  was 
convinced  that  my  ultimate  destination  was  not 
Lyons,  but  Fenestrelle  or  some  other  state  prison. 
My  own  hand  shook  as  1  wrote  in  reply  a  few 
words  which  showed  clearly  enough  my  distress  ; 
the  only  request  I  made  was  that  my  old  valet, 
Bennini,  might  be  sent  to  accompany  me.  Then  I 
hastened  to  find  Giorgi,  one  of  my  room  companions, 
to  tell  him  of  the  new  turn  in  my  affairs.     He  was 


ii8  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

horrified,  as  were  all  his  worthy  colleagues.  But 
our  good  and  merciful  Father  did  not  permit  my 
distress  to  be  of  long  duration.  He  gave  me  grace 
to  raise  my  eyes  to  Him,  to  bow  my  head  to  His 
adorable  will,  and  very  soon  I  became  perfectly 
tranquil  once  more. 

"  That  afternoon,  while  I  was  walking  with  my 
friends  on  the  bastions,  whence  we  could  see  the 
road  to  Rome,  I  fancied  that  every  coach  I  saw  was 
the  one  which  was  to  convey  me  to  my  new  destina- 
tion ;  but  when  the  evening  came,  and  the  fort  was 
closed,  I  assured  myself  that  there  was  nothing  to 
fear  for  that  night,  and  so,  with  the  usual  quiet  and 
gaiety,  I  sat  down  to  enjoy  over  a  game  of  *  ombre' 
the  amiable  society  of  my  dear  fellow  prisoners. 

"  Having  passed  the  night  a  little  less  tranquilly 
than  usual,  1  rose  in  the  morning  to  perform  my 
religious  exercises,  and  suddenly  became  aware  that 
the  Concierge  (till  then  ignorant  of  the  coming 
changes)  was  speaking  in  the  next  room  about  my 
immediate  departure.  From  this  I  understood  all, 
and,  in  fact,  a  few  moments  later  the  Mayor  ap- 
peared, accompanied  by  the  gendarme  who  was  to 
act  as  my  escort.  This  man  was  a  Brigadier  named 
Collia,  and  he  had  orders  to  go  with  me  as  far  as 
Turin,  where  the  further  dispositions  in  regard  to 
my  destination  would  be  made  known. 

"  This  confirmed  me  in  my  conviction  that  not 
Lyons,  but  Fenestrelle,  was  the  spot  which  the 
clemency    of    the    Emperor    had    selected    for    me. 


LEAVING  CIVITA   VECCHIA  119 

The  Mayor  counted  out  to  me  the  five  hundred 
scudi  (which  my  father  repaid  to  the  police  in 
Rome),  and  I  received  the  order,  from  the  same 
source,  to  pay  the  above-mentioned  gendarme 
three  hundred  francs,  a  sum  which,  according 
to  military  estimates  of  distance,  would  allow  him 
five  francs  (one  scudo)  a  day  for  the  journey 
from  Rome  to  Turin,  and  from  Turin  back  to 
Rome.  The  said  sum  1  instantly  counted  out  to 
my  new  guardian.  I  was  told  that  the  journey 
was  to  be  made  by  post  (that  is  to  say,  changing 
horses  at  the  ordinary  posting-stations),  and  that 
from  Civita  Vecchia  I  was  to  go  that  same  day  to 
Viterbo,  where  we  could  strike  the  main  road  to 
the  north. 

"As  soon  as  the  Mayor  and  the  gendarme  had 
withdrawn  another  person  entered  the  room — 
Filippo  Appolloni,  my  own  maestro  di  casa^  who  had 
come  from  Rome  with  the  gendarme  in  order  to 
see  me  once  more.  He  brought  me  a  letter  from 
my  wife.  When  I  asked  him  which  of  my  servants 
was  to  accompany  me,  he  replied  that  it  would  be 
the  groom,  Mariano.  I  was  not  much  pleased  with 
the  arrangement,  having  only  small  confidence  in 
the  fellow,  who,  besides  being  very  young,  had 
only  been  a  few  months  in  my  service.  But  I  had 
to  resign  myself.  I  thought  it  as  well,  before 
leaving,  to  write  a  letter  intended  for  my  parents, 
my  wife,  my  children,  and  my  sisters,  in  which  I 
manifested  all  the  emotions  that  a  son,  a  husband, 


120  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

a  father,  a  brother  could  not  but  feel  in  such  cir- 
cumstances. Then  the  Brigadier,  my  guard,  re- 
appeared, informing  me  that  all  was  ready  for  our 
departure.  I  tenderly  embraced  all  my  beloved 
comrades,  who  almost  all  had  tears  in  their  eyes. 
Among  them  Belli,  after  having  embraced  me, 
threw  himself  on  the  bed  and  wept  openly.  This 
sight  touched  me  deeply,  but  did  not  disturb  the 
inner  peace  of  my  heart,  and  I  went  calmly  whither 
God  was  calling  me/' 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  curious  rancour  which  Napoleon  nourished 
in  regard  to  the  Patrizi  family  showed  itself  at  this 
point  in  a  step  which  excited  the  indignation  of 
the  Emperor's  own  employes.  The  Marchese 
Giovanni  was  a  close  prisoner  ;  his  sons,  with  their 
mother,  were  already  on  their  way  to  France  ;  but 
their  enemy  was  not  appeased  by  these  forced  sub- 
missions. He  ordered  the  sequestration  of  the 
entire  revenues  of  the  Patrizi  family.  Count 
Tournon,  the  Governor  of  Rome,  was  appalled  at 
this  arbitrary  and  cruel  decree,  and  at  once  wrote 
confidentially  to  his  friend,  M.  AngMes,  the  Director 
of  Police  in  Paris,  to  ask  for  its  repeal.  The 
letter  is  dated  January  23,   18 12. 

"  A  month  since,"  the  Count  writes,  "  he  (General 
de  Miollis)  instructed  me  to  immediately  sequestrate 
the  property  of  M.  Jean  Patrizi.  To  this  I  promptly 
replied,  informing  him  that,  as  M.  Jean  Patrizi's 
father  and  mother  are  still  living,  it  is  unlikely  that 
the  property  has  been  divided,  and  I  ask  him  for 
further  instructions.  The  answer  was  a  renewed 
order    to    put   the    seal    on  all    M.  Jean    Patrizi's 

121 


122  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

property,  and    nothing  was    said    in    reply    to    my 
request  for  explanations. 

**  I  took  out  an  order  in  conformity  with  the 
General's  letter  and  sent  it  on  to  the  Director  of 
the  Domains  ;  two  days  later  he  sent  me  a  certificate 
proving  that  all  the  Patrizi  property  belonged  to 
the  father.  This  document  I  transmitted  to  M. 
Miollis  ;  he  sent  for  the  Director  of  Domains  and 
for  me,  and  in  my  presence  ordered  the  Director 
to  sequestrate  all  property  pertaining  to  the  Patrizi 
family.  The  Director  demanded  to  have  the  order 
in  writing,  but  this  M.  Miollis  obstinately  refused 
to  give.  At  last,  after  a  long  scene,  the  Director 
consented  to  place  the  seals,  and  this  has  been 
done. 

"  So,  while  Madame  Patrizi  is  on  the  way  to 
take  her  sons  to  La  Fl^che,  while  her  husband  is 
at  Fenestrelle,  the  goods  of  the  father  are  seques- 
trated, although  the  order  speaks  only  of  Jean 
Patrizi.  I  beseech  you  to  give  orders  for  removing 
a  sequestration  so  unjust  and  so  little  in  accord 
with  the  commands  of  the  Minister.  .  .  . 

(Signea)  *'  Tournon." 

In  his  Memoirs  Count  Tournon  writes  thus  of 
that  critical  moment  : 

*'The  Marquis  Patrizi  refused  to  consent  to 
the  departure  of  his  children  ;  he  was  carried  off, 
himself,  and  shut  up  in  Fenestrelle,  so  harsh  had 
the  methods  become.     His  poor  wife,  born  Princess 


TOURNON'S  FRIENDLINESS  123 

of  Saxony,  an  angel  of  piety,  is  sadly  accompanying 
her  children  in  order  to  preserve  them  from  the 
contagion  of  French  impiety." 

The  reason  of  this  incredible  vexation — a  reason 
of  which  Tournon  was  probably  ignorant — is  to 
be  found  in  a  marginal  note  on  a  report  of 
General  de  Miollis,  in  which  he  gave  an  account 
of  the  Marchese  Patrizi's  resistance  to  the  Decree 
of  July  9.  This  note,  in  the  Emperor's  own  hand- 
writing, says  : 

"  Let  this  individual  be  arrested,  sent  to  Fene- 
strelle,  and  all  his  goods  sequestrated. 

"  Napoleon." 

In  the  state  archives  of  Paris  there  exists  the 
following  report  to  His  Majesty,  the  Emperor 
and  King  : 

"Sire, 

"The  Prefect  of  the  Department  of  the 
Ombronne "  (Umbria)  "  informs  me  that,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  decree  of  the  Prefect  of  Rome, 
issued  in  conformity  with  instructions  from  Your 
Majesty  communicated  by  the  Vicegerent  of  the 
Governor-General,  an  order  of  sequestration  is  to 
be  placed  on  all  the  goods ^  without  exception^  belong- 
ing to  Sieur  Jean  Patrizi,  a  proprietor  in  Rome. 

"  The  Sieur  Patrizi  possesses  in  the  city  of 
Siena  a  palace  and  lands  producing  approximately 
an  annual  revenue  of  2,000   francs.     The  Prefect 


124  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

of  the  Ombronne  inquires  whether  these  properties 
are  to  be  included  in  the  order  for  sequestration, 
like  those  which  the  Sieur  Patrizi  possesses  in  the 
Department  of  Rome. 

*'  Not  knowing  what  decision  Your  Majesty 
has  taken  on  this  subject,  I  beg  that  I  may  receive 
Your  Majesty*s  orders. 

"  The  Minister  of  Finance, 

"The  Duke  of  Gaita." 

The  answer  to  this  inquiry  was  short  and  to 
the  point.  The  Emperor  wrote  on  the  margin 
of  the  Duke's  letter : 

"Yes! 

"Napoleon. 
"St.  Cloud  Palace  of  the  Tuileries, 
'^January  30,  18 12." 

When  orders  were  given  in  this  form  they  were 
not  discussed  ;  indeed,  they  were  not  spoken  of. 
They  were  fulfilled,  and  that  was  all.  The  Patrizi 
family  would  have  been  reduced  to  destitution  had 
not  the  tenants,  respecting  its  misfortunes,  animated 
by  the  same  principles,  and  confident  of  better 
things  in  the  future,  continued,  secretly,  and  in 
spite  of  the  menaces  of  the  Government,  to  offer 
small  loans  of  money  to  their  landlord. 

And  when  these  means  of  assistance,  on  which, 
from  delicacy  of  feeling,  the  Patrizi s  were  very 
loth    to    trespass,    came    to    an    end,    the    family 


PROPERTY  SEQUESTRATED         125 

sacrificed  jewels  and  plate  rather  than  recede 
from  the  attitude  they  had  taken  in  the  conflict 
with  injustice  and  violence.  They  even  attempted 
to  keep  the  bad  news  from  the  Marchese  Giovanni, 
but  it  was  imparted  to  him  at  Bologna  by 
Monsignor  Naro,  his  mother's  uncle,  as  he  relates 
in  his  Memoirs. 


Of  his  departure  from  Civita  Vecchia,  he  writes  : 

"  At  the  gate  of  the  fortress  I  found  the  travel- 
ling-carriage and  got  into  it,  with  my  escort.  The 
sea  at  that  moment  was  tossed  by  a  violent  storm 
which  seemed  to  threaten  even  the  vessels  inside 
the  harbour.  This  extravagance  of  the  weather, 
however,  did  not  penetrate  inland,  and,  as  we 
left  the  sea  behind,  the  sky  cleared.  Having 
left  Civita  Vecchia  after  ten  in  the  morning,  it 
was  impossible  to  reach  Viterbo  without  travelling 
during  a  great  part  of  the  night — and  that  over 
roads  that  were  anything  but  good.  Therefore  I 
proposed  to  the  gendarme  that  we  should  pass 
the  night  at  Monte  Romano,  a  place  belonging 
to  the  Arch-hospital  of  Santo  Spirito,  where  I 
knew  that  we  should  find  the  oft-mentioned  Signor 
Guglielmi,  who  would  certainly  receive  us  with 
pleasure. 

"The  gendarme  accepted   my  proposal,  but  on 


126  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

arriving  at  Monte  Romano  I  learnt,  to  my  regret, 
that  Guglielmi  had  had  an  accident  and  was  laid 
up  at  Corneto.  There  were  there,  however, 
Messrs.  Francesco  Bruschi  and  Vincenzo  Calabrini, 
co-tenants  with  him  of  the  estate,  and  they 
received  me  and  treated  me  with  every  courtesy 
at  the  Palazzo  S.  Spirito,  which  they  had  rented. 

*' On  the  morning  of  the  i8th  of  December, 
at  the  break  of  day,  I  left  Monte  Romano  and 
towards  noon  reached  Viterbo,  where  I  stopped 
for  dinner  at  the  Palazzo  Chigi  Montoro,  belonging 
to  my  mother.  Here  I  had  the  consolation  of 
embracing  again  the  excellent  Monsignore  de 
Bonneval,  formerly  Bishop  of  Seney  in  France, 
whom  1  immediately  notified  of  my  arrival,  since, 
according  to  the  instructions  my  guard  had  received 
from  the  police  in  Rome,  I  was  forbidden  to 
pay  any  visits  and  was  to  be  allowed  to  receive 
very  few. 

"  The  noble,  incomparable  prelate  had  the  good- 
ness to  come  to  me  at  once,  and,  embracing  me 
with  tears,  said  that  his  eyes  must  speak  for  his 
tongue,  as  the  Italian  language  was  not  very 
familiar  to  him.  He  communicated  to  me  a  letter 
from  our  mutual  friend,  Cavaliere  Bassi,  in  which 
the  writer  drew  a  sad  picture  of  the  present 
situation  of  my  family. 

"  The  next  night  I  stopped  at  S.  Lorenzo  Nuovo, 
and  on  the  19th,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  I 
reached  Siena,  where  I  went    to  rest  at   my   own 


SIENA   AND   FLORENCE  127 

house.  Here  there  was  no  lack  of  good  friends 
to  visit  me,  for  I  have  many  in  this  second  home- 
country.  As  it  was  impossible  for  me,  in  my 
situation,  to  go  and  pay  my  respects  in  person 
to  the  Very  Rev.  Archbishop  Zondadari,*  I  sent 
him  word  at  least  of  my  wishes,  and  of  my  regret 
that  1  was  not  permitted  to  carry  them  out.  The 
venerable  and  gracious  prelate,  full  of  kind  feelings 
towards  myself  and  my  family,  would  not  allow 
me  to  leave  Siena  without  having  had  the  happiness 
of  saluting  him,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  20th, 
a  few  minutes  before  my  departure,  he  con- 
descended to  come  to  my  house  and  honour  me 
with  a  visit. 

"  I  cannot  express  the  confusion  which  over- 
whelmed me  at  this  mark  of  goodness  from  the 
saintly  pastor,  a  confusion  immeasurably  increased 
by  the  rudeness  of  my  guard,  who  hurried  my 
departure  to  such  an  extent  that  I  was,  as  it  were, 
forced  to  dismiss  the  illustrious  personage  who  had 
bestowed  on  me  such  a  mark  of  favour.  On 
that  morning  I  had  the  consolation  of  assisting,  in 
my  private  chapel,  at  Holy  Mass,  of  which  I  had 
been  deprived  ever  since  the  25th  of  November. 

"  That  evening  I  reached  Florence  and  put  up  at 
the  Hotel  New  York.  The  next  morning,  having 
heard    Mass,    as   was    my  duty,  in    honour   of  St. 

*  This  good  prelate  is  described  in  a  French  police  report,  1808, 
as  "  a  tiger,  the  enemy  of  France  and  of  humanity,  who  must  be 
muzzled  by  a  severe  police." 


128  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

Thomas,  whose  feast  it  was,  I  continued  my  journey 
and  stopped  for  the  night  at  Covigliano,  a  village 
situated  high  up  in  the  Apennines.  Leaving  that 
place  on  the  22nd,  I  fulfilled  my  religious  duties  for 
the  Sunday  at  Loiano,  and  was  there,  in  the  quality 
of  a  prisoner,  presented  to  the  Commissary  of  Police. 
Some  one  had  made  my  guard  believe  that  this 
functionary  wished  to  see  me  ;  but  I  at  once  perceived, 
from  his  manner,  that  nothing  was  further  from  his 
desires.  Some  malicious  wag  had  wished  to  inflict 
this  little  inconvenience  on  us  both,  and  on  me  the 
very  slight  mortification  it  involved,  not  realising  that 
in  these  days  it  is  not  a  disgrace,  but  an  honour, 
to  be  a  prisoner. 

"  On  the  same  day,  towards  two  in  the  afternoon, 
I  reached  Bologna.  I  had  asked,  as  a  favour,  of  my 
mentor,  to  be  allowed  to  lodge  in  Palazzo  Spada 
with  my  uncle,  Monsignor  Naro,  Majordomo  of 
St.  Peter's,  who  for  the  last  eighteen  months  had 
been  exiled  to  Bologna  for  having  refused  to  take 
the  oath  required  of  him  in  his  character  of  a  Canon 
of  the  Vatican.  The  desired  favour  was  granted, 
and  we  drew  up  at  the  door  of  the  palace.  My  good 
uncle  was  glad  to  see  me  again,  but  his  joy  was  sadly 
tempered  by  beholding  me  in  such  a  position.  After 
the  first  exchange  of  greetings  he  gave  me  a  letter 
which  he  had  received  from  my  mother  but  a  few 
moments  earlier,  enclosing  one  that  I  myself  had 
written  to  him  from  Civita  Vecchia. 

"  Who  can  describe  my  tender  mother's  laments 


BAD  NEWS  AT  BOLOGNA  129 

over  my  destination  ?  She  declared  herself  convinced 
that  I  was  being  taken  to  Fenestrelle,*  she  described 
the  uncontrollable  grief  of  the  whole  family  when 
my  farewell  letter  from  Civita  Vecchia  was  read  ; 
and  finally  she  narrated  how  an  imperial  usher  had 
presented  himself  at  the  house  to  sequestrate  all  my 
effects.  She  went  on  to  say  they  hoped  to  avert  the 
execution  of  the  order  by  showing  a  certificate  which 
my  father  had  already  exhibited  to  the  authorities, 
declaring  that  I  had  no  property  whatever  in  the 
house,  it  all  belonging  to  my  father,  including  even 
the  furniture  of  the  rooms  assigned  to  me.  This 
new  blow  was  as  heavy  as  it  was  unexpected,  and 
depressed  me  much,  since  it  was  an  indication  of 
the  extreme  rigour  which  was  being  adopted  in  the 
proceedings  against  me. 

"  Now,  while  I  was  having  a  conversation  the 
reverse  of  cheerful  with  my  uncle,  and  he  was 
making  the  necessary  dispositions  for  my  stay  that 
night,  my  gendarme  discovered  that  some  comrades 
of  his  were  lodging  in  the  palace,  and  he  confided  to 
me  his  fears  that  they  would  get  him  into  trouble 
with  his  superiors  for  having  brought  me  there 
against  the  orders  he  had  received,  forbidding  him 
to  let  me  visit  any  private  house.  Since  in  Viterbo 
and  in  Siena  he  had  taken  upon  himself  to  disregard 
these  orders  simply  to  oblige  me,  I  saw  the  reason- 
ableness of  his  present  protest.     My  uncle  agreed 

*  This  distant  prison  fortress  had  an  evil  name  for  rigour  and 
discomfort. 

9 


130  THE  PATRI2I  MEMOIRS 

with  me,  and  in  consequence  I  asked  to  be  transferred 
from  Palazzo  Spada  to  the  Hotel  del  Pellegrino. 

"Truth  constrains  me  to  say  that  my  custodian 
appeared  genuinely  grateful  for  my  consideration  in 
this  matter,  and  also  very  sorry  to  have  had  to 
deprive  me  of  the  pleasure  of  being  with  my  uncle 
.  .  .  but  I  enjoyed  the  same  pleasure  at  the  hotel, 
where  he  came  and  remained  with  me  for  some 
hours,  prolonging  his  visit  till  after  we  had  supped. 
Then  we  separated,  sadly  uncertain  of  the  time  and 
place  where  we  should  be  permitted  to  embrace  each 
other  again. 

**  I  also  received  the  kind  visit  of  my  cousin, 
Donna  Prudenza  Spada,  and  her  husband,  the 
Marchese  Valerio  Boschi.  Two  other  friends  came 
as  well.  Canon  Bolognetti  of  the  Vatican  and  Canon 
De  Rossi  of  Sta.  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  both  under 
sentence  of  exile  for  the  same  cause  as  my  uncle. 

"  On  the  23rd  we  slept  at  Parma,  and  on  the 
24th  at  Voghera,  where  I  was  cheered  on  that  most 
holy  night  by  the  joyous  sound  of  the  church  bells 
ringing  for  the  Nativity  of  the  Divine  Redeemer. 
On  the  morning  of  Christmas  Day  we  left  Voghera, 
heard  Mass  at  Tortona,  dined  at  Alessandria,  and 
at  ten  that  night  we  reached  Turin,  where  we  put 
up  at  the  Hotel  de  Londres.  So  here  I  was  at 
last  in  Delphi,  where  the  Oracle  would  pronounce 
decisively  on  my  fate !  I  longed  for  the  daylight 
to  come,  so  that  I  could  go  and  consult  the 
venerated   tripod   and   hear   my   sentence,   for   my 


THE  ''ORACLE*'  AT  TURIN  131 

guardian  had  told  me  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a 
letter  from  the  Director-General  of  Police  in  Rome 
to  the  corresponding  functionary  in  Turin,  from 
whom  fresh  orders  were  to  be  expected  as  to  my 
now  interesting  self.  So,  having  assisted  at  the 
Divine  Sacrifice  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  at 
the  elegant  church  of  S.  Lorenzo,  where  only 
the  feast  of  the  Proto-martyr  (Saint  Stephen)  was 
commemorated,  we  repaired  to  the  Palace  of  Police, 
but  found  that  M.  Danzer,  the  Director,  was 
absent. 

"  The  High-priest  being  away,  the  awe-inspiring 
curtain  was  not  raised,  and  the  oracle  was  dumb. 
We  returned  at  two  o'clock,  when  my  guard  was 
admitted  to  the  audience  first,  and  I  was  left  to 
wait  in  the  anteroom.  I  was  then  introduced  into 
the  presence  of  the  Augur,  and  inquired  of  him 
as  to  my  fate.  He  replied  mysteriously  that  it 
was  hidden  from  him,  and  that  he  must  get  his 
orders  from  His  Serene  Highness  the  Prince- 
Governor  ;  that  is  to  say,  of  my  fellow-citizen, 
Prince  Camillo  Borghese.*  Who  would  have  believed, 
a  few  years  ago,  that  my  fate  was  to  depend  on 
this  creature — or,  to  put  it  more  clearly,  on  this 
automaton,  the  loyal  executor  of  the  harsh  orders 
of  his  reigning  brother-in-law  ? 

*'  The  Director  asked  me  whether  I  was  accom- 

♦  "A  fool,  odious  and  despised,  whose  connection  with  Napoleon 
robbed  him  of  all  prestige  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-countrymen." — 
Madelin,  •'  La  Rome  de  Napoleon." 


132  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

panied  by  a  servant,  and,  on  my  replying  in  the 
affirmative,  he  remarked  that,  as  the  man  would 
have  to  share  my  fortunes,  it  would  be  well  to 
find  out  whether  he  was  disposed  to  follow  whither- 
soever they  might  lead.  I  promised  to  do  this, 
and  then  made  bold  to  ask  the  official  whether  I 
might  go  about  the  city  with  my  guide  while 
waiting  for  the  final  oracle  to  issue  from  the 
Napoleon-Borghese  tripod.  He  replied  politely, 
no  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  was  told  to  hold  myself 
in  readiness  for  the  departure,  which  would  probably 
take  place  that  same  night.  Obedient  to  these 
commands,  I  returned  to  the  hotel,  and  spent  the 
rest  of  the  day,  and  about  half  of  the  night,  sitting 
by  the  fire. 

"  The  27  th  dawned,  the  feast  of  the  beloved 
disciple  whose  name  I  am  privileged  to  bear.  When 
the  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens,  I  was  still  uncertain 
of  my  fate.  Towards  noon  a  gendarme,  sent  by 
the  police,  came  to  inform  me  that  I  was  to  leave 
Turin  in  two  hours.  Here  humour  entered  into 
the  situation,  for  the  herald  of  bad  news,  in  making 
this  pleasant  announcement,  displayed  before  my 
eyes  a  paper  containing  the  order  for  my  deporta- 
tion to  Fenestrelle  with  an  escort  of  two  gendarmes, 
to  each  of  whom  I  was  to  pay  five  francs  a  day, 
as  well  as  the  money  for  their  return  journey ! 
I  really  believe  that  the  man  was  ashamed  to  pro- 
nounce this  sentence,  and  showed  me  the  paper  to 
let   me  find   it   out   for   myself.      The   first   word 


PATRIZI  LEARNS  HIS  FATE  133 

I  saw  was  *  Fenistrelle/  Not  in  the  least  cast 
down  by  this  new  trait  of  imperial  benevolence,  of 
which  I  had  had  such  striking  proofs,  I  proceeded 
to  inquire  of  the  herald  as  to  the  distance  to 
Fenestrelle,  and  the  best  means  of  making  the 
journey. 

"  He  pretended  to  be  surprised  at  my  having 
learnt  the  name  of  my  destination  .  .  .  and  indeed 
I  felt  grateful  to  him  for  the  courtesy  which 
had  allowed  me  to  read  it  rather  than  hear  it 
actually  pronounced.  .  .  .  But  now  there  arrived 
on  the  scene  the  two  gendarmes  who  were  to 
take  this  great  criminal  in  charge,  to  carry  him 
into  the  recesses  of  the  Alps ;  the  other,  who 
had  brought  me  to  Turin,  was  free  from  that 
moment. 

"And  here  I  must  say  something  about  the 
character  of  this  soldier.  From  the  first  moment 
when  I  had  the  misfortune  to  make  his  acquaintance 
he  declared  himself  anxious  to  fall  in  with  my 
wishes  in  every  way  that  should  be  possible  to 
him  ;  but  it  appeared  that  very  little  was  possible, 
since  he  did  next  to  nothing  in  that  way.  Under 
a  mask  of  moderation  he  concealed  extreme  rigour. 
He  was  always  at  my  side,  like  a  ferocious  mastiiF, 
and  never,  so  to  speak,  lost  sight  of  me.  On 
two  nights  only,  and  that  because  the  lodging 
permitted  of  no  other  arrangement,  had  he  been 
induced  to  sleep  in  a  room  separate  from  mine  ;  but 
close    to   it.     The   fear   of    compromising    himself 


134  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

prevented  him  from  letting  me  pay  any  visit  to 
friends  or  relations  in  the  cities  through  which  we 
passed,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  was 
persuaded  to  let  me  receive  them.  Having  been 
induced  to  let  me  lodge  with  my  uncle  in  Bologna, 
he  was  afraid  of  the  gendarmes  in  the  palace,  and 
the  pleasure  had  to  be  renounced.  His  conduct 
in  Siena,  obliging  me  actually  to  dismiss  the  Arch- 
bishop, showed  that  he  was  wanting  in  all  good 
manners,  and  I  really  travelled  as  fast  as  I  could  to 
be  quit  of  his  unwelcome  company  ! 

"  In  the  two  satellites  assigned  to  me  in  Turin  I 
found  more  gentleness  and  refinement.  It  was  on 
the  27th  of  December,  towards  three  in  the  afternoon, 
that  I  left  that  place  with  my  new  guards.  We 
passed  the  night  at  Pinerolo,  and  on  the  28  th,  the 
Feast  of  the  Holy  Innocents,  an  hour  after  midday, 
we  reached  the  village  of  Fenestrelle. 

"  My  guards  stopped  at  the  village  inn,  evidently 
hoping  that  I  would  order  dinner  there  for  them  and 
myself;  but  I  requested  to  be  taken  at  once  to  the 
Commandant.  The  snow  was  falling  as  I  climbed 
the  giogo  and  entered  the  fortress  of  S.  Carlo, 
where  the  excellent  official,  M.  Bernard  David,  and 
his  worthy  wife  gave  me  the  kindest  of  welcomes. 
But  the  most  cordial  demonstrations  of  friendship 
awaited  me  from  Count  Andrea  Baccili  of  Fermo 
and  the  Abb6  Domenico  Sala,  my  fellow  citizen. 
As  soon  as  they  heard  of  my  arrival  they  left  their 
dinner  and  hastened  to  the  apartment  of  the  Com- 


ARRIVAL  AT  FENESTRELLE  135 

mandant,   where   they   embraced    me   with    all    the 
warmth  of  their  kind  hearts. 

"  The  first  of  these  gentlemen  had,  three  months 
earlier,  completed  the  third  year  of  his  imprisonment 
in  the  fortress  ;  the  second  had  been  there  nearly 
ten  months.  Count  Baccili  I  knew  only  by  reputa- 
tion, with  the  Abbe  I  was  well  acquainted  ;  but 
from  that  moment,  recognising  in  them  fellow- 
victims  of  the  hipenne  (double-headed  axe)  that 
was  attacking  me,  I  began  to  feel  for  them  a  very 
tender  friendship.  It  was  from  them  that  I  received 
the  welcome  information  that  I  was  not  to  be 
condemned  to  solitary  confinement,  a  measure  which 
I  had  been  led  to  apprehend  from  the  rigour  with 
which  I  had  been  treated  at  Civita  Vecchia  and  on 
my  journey.  And  then,  understanding  my  great 
need  of  food  at  that  moment,  they  invited  me  to 
their  table,  and  on  my  asking  if  they  would  accept 
my  company  regularly  at  meals,  most  kindly  con- 
sented to  the  arrangement.  I  was  indeed  glad  to 
find  that  the  wish  (for  congenial  companions)  which 
I  had  formed  as  soon  as  I  suspected  that  I  was  being 
sent  to  Fenestrelle,  was  to  be  so  fully  gratified. 

*'  Some  of  the  prisoners,  for  the  most  part 
ecclesiastics  and  very  distinguished,  came  to  greet 
their  new  colleague,  and  the  good  Commendatore 
of  San  Lorenzo,  whom  I  knew  well  and  who,  being 
confined  to  his  bed,  could  not  come  in  person,  sent 
his  servant  to  make  a  thousand  obliging  offers  in 
his  name.     But  inexpressible  was  my  joy  when  my 


136  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

friend  Baccili  led  me  to  where  1  could  present  my 
homage  to  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Pacca,  and  I 
could  imprint  an  affectionate  kiss  on  the  sacred 
purple  *  which  he  so  worthily  wears,  and  which  is 
surely  adorned  with  a  new  gem  for  every  one  of 
the  insults  and  sorrows  he  has  so  intrepidly  endured 
in  defence  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  the  Holy  See. 

*'  It  was  then  the  end  of  the  twenty-ninth  month 
that  this  incomparable  prelate,  Prime  Minister,  and 
fellow-sufferer  in  the  abduction  of  the  great  and 
immortal  Pius  VII,  my  true  and  only  Sovereign, 
had  passed  in  this  fortress  under  rigorous  guard. 
He  received  me  with  the  graciousness  which  is  a 
part  of  his  angelic  character,  condescended  to  press 
me  to  his  heart,  and  then  and  there  began  to  over- 
whelm me  with  favours,  which  have  never  ceased 
to  the  present  day. 

'*  I  was  then  conducted  to  the  room  assigned  to 
me,  which,  thanks  to  the  kindness  of  my  friends, 
I  should  in  any  case  have  found  prepared  for  my 
arrival ;  but  in  this  the  Cardinal  had  most  graciously 
forestalled  them.  The  room  was  an  excellent  one, 
but  unfortunately  very  distant  from  that  of  the 
good  comrades  who  had  made  me  free  of  their 
table ;  and  so,  in  consequence  of  the  many  re- 
presentations made  by  my  friend  BacciJi  to  the 
wife  of  the  Commandant,  I  was  soon  transferred  to 
another  much  better  apartment  .  .  .  next  to  his  own. 

*  "  Baciar  la  sacra  porpora,"  a  form  of  words  still  employed  when 
speaking  of  saluting  a  prelate. 


FRIENDS  IN   PRISON  137 

*'  On  the  day  of  my  arrival  at  Fenestrelle  I 
thought  it  wise  to  dismiss  my  servant,  who,  as 
I  clearly  perceived,  would  not  have  been  contented 
to  remain  with  me  there,  although  he  declared 
himself  willing  to  do  so  should  I  command  him. 
.  .  .  After  two  or  three  days  I  was  admitted,  in 
company  with  the  Cardinal  and  my  friend  Baccili,  to 
the  society  of  the  Chatelaine,  with  whom  we  have 
kept  up  our  friendly  relations  to  this  day. 


"  Ever  adoring  the  eternally  loving  and  just  dis- 
positions of  Heaven,  I  could  contemplate  with  a 
quiet  mind  my  new  situation,  rendered  so  much 
less  irksome  by  the  society  of  the  good  priests,  by 
the  abundance  of  religious  consolations,  by  the  per- 
manent presence  of  the  August  Sacrament  in  the 
chapel  of  the  fort,  thus  affording  every  facility  for 
the  exercise  of  our  holy  religion,  the  privation  of 
which  I  had  felt  so  deeply  in  my  unhappy  sojourn 
at  Civita  Vecchia." 

The  accomplished  compiler  of  the  Memoirs  is 
careful  to  note  here  that  the  poor  servant  Mariano 
did  not  abandon  his  master  from  motives  of  cowardice. 
In  a  letter  written  by  the  Marchesa  Cunegonda  to 
her  husband  in  the  month  of  November  1 8 1 2,  she 
says  :  "  I  hear  that  Mariano,  who  left  you  at  Fene- 
strelle, has  got  married.     He  was  thinking  of  this 


138  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

before,  and  this  was  probably  the  reason  why  he 
was  frightened  at  the  idea  of  a  state  prison." 

And  now  the  correspondence  between  husband 
and  wife  became  more  active,  the  poor  lady  still 
believing  her  spouse  to  be  at  Civita  Vecchia.  On 
December  i6  she  writes  : 

"  My  dearest  Giovanni, — 

"  Two  lines  before  your  departure.  I  wish 
to  know,  and  I  pray  you  to  tell  the  Signor  Filippo  " 
(evidently  her  messenger),  "  whether  you  are  quiet 
and  resigned.  I  pray  God  with  all  my  heart  that 
it  may  be  so. 

"  1  received  word  this  morning  that,  when  it  is 
desired  that  I  should  leave  "  (for  France),  ''  the  pass- 
ports will  be  sent  to  me,  but  that  meanwhile  I 
am  merely  to  continue  my  preparations.  This,  as 
I  perceive,  is  for  fear  I  should  meet  you  on  the 
road.  Well,  I  shall  start  as  soon  as  I  have  per- 
mission. Don  Lorenzo  "  (Giustiniani)  "  insists  that 
I  ought  to  travel  slowly.  I  wished  to  hasten  to 
reach  Paris  in  order  to  procure  your  liberation  ; 
but  he  says  that  you  will  be  quite  at  peace  in  your 
new  lodging,  and  that  you  would  prefer  my  travelling 
easily.  This  seems  to  accord  with  all  you  have  said 
and  written,  so  I  will  follow  his  counsel.  Mean- 
while Cristina "  (Cunegonda's  sister,  married  to  the 
Marchese  Massimo)  "  is  writing  to-day  to  Marianna 
to  intercede  for  you."  (Marianna  was  another 
sister,  married  to  Prince  Altieri,  who  had  accepted 


CUNEGONDA'S  SYMPATHY  139 

office  under  the  new  Government  and  was  believed 
to  have  strong  influence  at  Court.)  "  How  many- 
things  I  long  to  say  to  you,  my  dear  Gio,  but  I 
have  no  time,  and  you  understand  it  all.  I  hope 
we  shall  see  one  another  soon  ;  but  till  then  be 
sure  that  no  moment  passes  without  my  thinking 
of  you. 

"  Pray  for  me,  and  take  care  of  yourself.     Fare- 
well." 

"  Rome,  December  21s f,  181 1. 

'*  My  Dearest  Giovanni, 

"  In  the  confusion  and  bewilderment  caused 
us  by  your  unexpected  departure  we  did  not  think 
of  arranging  for  you  to  have  direct  news  of  us  in 
the  course  of  your  journey  ;  I  am  trying  to  remedy 
this  involuntary  oversight  to-day  by  sending  this 
letter  to  Turin,  to  a  faithful  person,  so  that  it  may  be 
delivered  into  your  own  hands.  I  think  with  grief, 
my  dear,  that  every  moment  now  takes  you  farther 
away  from  us,  and  even  now  we  are  not  certain  of 
your  destination  ;  greatly  I  fear  it  may  be  Fenes- 
trelle.  That  which  consoles  me  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  afflictions  is  the  certainty  that  our  Good 
Father  is  with  you,  and  that  He  will  never  forsake 
you  ;  on  the  contrary,  that  He  will  bestow  all  the 
spiritual  consolations  which  can  sustain  and  encour- 
age you  in  your  solitude.  The  prayers  being  put 
up  for  you  are  without  number,  even  by  persons 
who  do  not  know  you,  but  who  take  deep  interest 


140  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

in  all  that  concerns  you.  We  got  news  of  you 
from  Viterbo,  and  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to 
hear  that  you  were  so  calm  ;  and  indeed,  how 
should  you  be  otherwise  ?  .  .  .  I  can  give  you  good 
news  of  all  here  at  home,  your  father  being  about 
as  usual ;  the  children  are  all  well,  and  nothing  more 
has  been  said  about  my  departure  as  yet ;  I  wrote 
you  that  I  was  told  to  wait  until  they  should  send 
the  passports,  and  I  obey.  It  is  not  Parisani  who 
will  accompany  me  ;  it  would  have  been  too  great 
a  privation  to  your  father  to  be  separated  from  him 
just  now  ;  so  our  excellent  friend  Don  Lorenzo  has 
offered  himself  (as  escort),  and  you  may  believe  how 
gladly  I  accepted,  knowing  how  welcome  to  you 
would  be  this  new  proof  of  his  friendship. 

"  So  be  reassured  as  to  what  regards  me,  for 
I  shall  travel  in  good  company.  I  will  be  very  care- 
ful of  myself  and  will  travel  slowly,  according  to 
your  wish. 

"  The  last  letter,  which  you  wrote  to  the  whole 
family  before  leaving  Civita  Vecchia,  touched  us  all 
to  the  last  degree.  Mariuccia*  was  very  pleased 
with  the  one  you  wrote  her  a  few  days  earlier. 
Your  twelve  fellow  prisoners  are  inconsolable  for 
your  absence. 

"  Farewell,  my  Giovanni,  dear  ;  I  must  not  pro- 
long this  letter  as  I  should  miss   the  hour  of  the 
post.     Write  to  me  if  you  can  ;  do  not  send  the 
letter  through    the  police,  but   simply    by    post  as 
*  Giovanni's  younger  sister. 


A   CURIOUS  CHAPERON  141 

every  one  does.  Your  father  and  mother,  your 
children,  your  sister,  your  friends,  send  you  a 
thousand  loving  messages.  Good-bye,  my  dearest, 
good-bye !  " 

Both  Cunegonda  and  her  husband,  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  the  circle  in  Palazzo  Patrizi,  firmly  believed 
that  as  soon  as  the  little  boys  should  have  been 
brought  to  France  their  father  would  be  set  at 
liberty,  and  it  was  in  this  assurance  that  Cunegonda 
showed  herself  now  so  willing  and  even  anxious  to 
undertake  the  journey.  In  those  days  of  rough  and 
often  dangerous  journeying,  it  would  have  been 
considered  unsafe  as  well  as  improper  for  a  woman 
of  her  rank  to  travel  without  a  male  escort  of  her 
own  class,  and  we  see  that  first  Signor  Parisani,  and 
then  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani,  came  forward  to  fill 
the  part  of  protector  and  guide  in  Giovanni's  absence. 
His  satisfaction  at  the  arrangement  is  taken  for 
granted,  and  the  Memoirs,  as  they  go  on,  show  the 
(to  our  more  sophisticated  eyes)  strange  spectacle 
of  a  young  and  beautiful  lady  and  her  children 
entrusted  unhesitatingly  to  the  care  of  a  popular 
society  man — not  only  for  the  journey  to  France, 
but  for  the  whole  period  of  her  sojourn  in  that 
country,  when,  the  boys  being  interned  at  the 
military  school,  the  Marchesa  and  her  husband's 
friend,  faithful  as  a  watch-dog  to  his  charge,  are 
constrained  to  keep  house  together  for  nearly  two 
years  1     And  this  without  the  faintest  suspicion  of 


142  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

scandal  having  ever  been  suggested  I     Autre  tempSy 
autres  moeurs  / 


Cunegonda's  two  letters  only  reached  her  husband 
at  Fenestrelle.  Giovanni  was  a  good  deal  troubled 
at  the  news  that  his  brother-in-law,  Prince  Altieri, 
had  undertaken  to  plead  his  cause  with  the  Emperor. 
To  the  proud  Roman  the  act  seemed  as  if  it  might 
be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  capitulation  on  his  part, 
and  he  wrote  very  frankly  to  his  wife  on  the  subject. 
The  letter  is  dated  from  Fenestrelle,  on  New  Year's 
Day,  1812  : 

"Dearest  Gondina  Mia, 

'*  Here  1  come  to  give  you  news  of  myself 
for  the  first  time  from  my  latest  place  of  exile — 
news  such  as  you  wish,  I  am  sure,  for  they  are 
excellent  !  I  am  quite  well  and  completely  tranquil. 
Nothing  is  wanting  here  either  for  the  soul  or  the 
body.  For  the  soul,  we  are  so  happy  as  to  have 
our  Lord,  Who  condescends  to  be  a  prisoner  with 
us — for  we  have  Masses  in  abundance  and  every 
facility  for  frequenting  the  Sacraments.  For  the 
body,  1  am  enjoying  excellent  health  and  have  a  fine 
appetite  and  surprisingly  good  digestion  !  And  I 
need  not  tell  you  how  delightful  is  the  company  of 
my  friends,  who  load  me  with  kindnesses.  Alto- 
gether, Gondina  mine,  I  must  say  in   all   sincerity 


PATRI2I  REFUSES  TO  BEG  143 

that  so  far  it  has  required  no  great  virtue  on  my  part 
to  resign  myself  to  stay  at  Fenestrelle,  and  if  it  were 
not  for  the  separation  from  those  whom  I  love  as 
my  own  self,  I  could  regard  this  sojourn  more  as 
a  villeggiatura  than  an  imprisonment.  I  think  you 
must  already  have  heard  that  I  am  allowed  to  walk 
all  over  the  fort,  and  to  converse  with  those  of  my 
fellow  prisoners  who  are  not  condemned  to  solitary 
confinement.  In  this  way  1  have  been  a  great  deal 
with  the  Canonico  Bacchi  and  the  Abbe  Sala,  from 
whom  I  receive  many  kind  attentions.  The  one 
thing  that  lies  heavy  on  my  heart  and  causes  me 
anxiety  is  the  fate  of  our  dear  children,  and  for  this 
cause  I  am  going  to  write  you  very  frankly  all  I 
feel,  leaving  you,  however,  in  perfect  freedom  to 
act  as  shall  seem  best  to  you,  taking  counsel  of  your 
Crucifix,  of  your  own  conscience,  and  of  the  incom- 
parable friend  of  my  heart  who  now  accompanies 
you. 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  must  say  that  I  was  a  little 
sorry  about  what  you  wrote  me  in  the  last  letter 
addressed  to  Civita  Vecchia — that  you  had  written 
to  your  sister,  Altieri,  to  try  to  obtain  my  liberation. 
If  this  step  was  taken  with  a  view  to  effecting  the 
possibility  of  my  accompanying  you  on  your  journey, 
I  have  nothing  to  say  against  it ;  but  if  it  tended  to 
remove  me  from  my  present  situation  by  making  it 
appear  that  I  regret  the  position  I  have  maintained 
hitherto,  I  cannot  approve  of  it,  since,  far  from 
regretting  my  actions,  I  am  prepared   to  remain  a 


144  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

prisoner  for  life  if,  by  such  imprisonment,  I  could 
save  my  sons.  Nor  do  I  feel  that  we  should  let 
them  be  taken  from  us  save  by  actual  force,  or  at  any 
rate  where  it  should  appear  certain  that  such  force 
would  be  used.  I  believe  that  those  who,  in  Paris 
or  in  Rome,  have  interested  themselves  to  have  me 
set  at  liberty,  have  made  me  appear  what  I  was  not — 
changed  ;  and  this  afflicts  me.  ...  It  is  true  that  I 
consented  to  have  you  go  to  Paris  with  the 
children,  but  this  was  solely  to  avoid  the  danger  of 
their  being  confided  to  a  stranger  ;  in  granting  this 
consent  I  had  no  intention  of  signifying  that  I  with- 
drew my  opposition  to  giving  them  up,  an  act  to 
which  we  could  only  be  brought  by  compulsion. 

"  I  will  tell  you  now  how  I  would  wish  you  to  act 
when  you  reach  Paris  ;  but  let  it  be  clearly  under- 
stood that  in  this  I  do  not  imply  any  obligation 
which  compromises  yourself  or  our  excellent  friend, 
for  I  do  not  wish  you  to  be  compelled  to  pay  me  a 
visit  among  these  smiling  hills  !  In  the  first  place, 
I  exhort  you  not  to  think  of  me  at  all  ;  on  no  account 
let  the  fear  of  added  severity  towards  me  deter  you 
from  doing  frankly  whatever  you  j  udge  to  be  right. 
So,  then,  you  must  not  think  of  me  at  all. 

"  When  you  reach  Paris  you  should  use  every 
possible  means  to  obtain  the  exemption  of  the  boys 
from  the  Prytan6e.  The  attempts  will  probably  be 
in  vain,  and  it  will  be  well  to  make  inquiries  as 
to  the  kind  of  education  given  in  the  schools  existing 
in  Paris,  in  one  of  which  your  nephew,  d'Esclignac, 


PATRI2I  ADVISES  HIS  WIFE  145 

was  placed.  And  if  the  reports  are  not  unfavour- 
able you  might  obtain  the  transference  of  our  boys 
from  the  Prytanee  to  such  a  school.  If  even  this 
is  not  to  be  obtained,  and  it  is  absolutely  insisted 
upon  that  they  should  go  to  the  Prytanee  de  la 
Fleche,  then  I  advise  you  to  go  in  person  to  the 
Director  of  Police  and  represent  to  him  that  I 
sanctioned  your  going  to  Paris  so  as  not  to  give 
the  children  into  the  hands  of  a  stranger,  but  that 
this  does  not  in  any  way  mean  that  I  have  authorised 
you  to  give  them  up.  Say  that  you  know  my 
character,  and  that  you  are  convinced  I  should  fly 
into  the  most  furious  passion  with  you  if  I  learnt 
that  you  had  voluntarily,  and  without  my  explicit 
consent,  let  the  children  go,  and  that,  for  your  own 
peace  of  mind  and  to  preserve  peace  in  the  family, 
you  wish  to  be  allowed  to  write  and  ask  me  what 
is  to  be  done.  If  you  can  only  obtain  this  I  know 
very  well  what  I  shall  reply  ;  but  it  will  be  hard 
to  obtain,  and  I  fear  that,  after  all,  you  will  be  obliged 
to  submit  to  the  will  of  the  authorities. 

"  So  now  recommend  yourself  earnestly  to  God 
and  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  act  as  your  conscience 
and  your  prudence  shall  dictate.  I  shall  be  apprised 
of  all  either  before  or  after  you  have  handed  over 
the  children,  a  thing  of  which  the  thought  fills  me 
with  horror.  Beware  of  taking  any  steps  to  obtain 
my  liberation.  That  will  come  when  it  shall  please 
God,  and  when  he  who  oppresses  us  shall  be  satiated. 

*'  Try,  meanwhile,  to  protract  as  much  as  possible 
10 


146  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

the  remainder  of  your  journey  to  Paris.  On  this 
account  I  should  prefer  to  have  you  travel  by  post 
rather  than  by "  (private)  "  carriage,  so  that  you 
could  go  more  slowly  and  with  less  expense.  If 
you  have  started  in  the  carriage  it  might  be  well, 
if  possible,  to  leave  it,  and  continue  the  journey  by 
post.  .  Do  whatever  seems  best  to  you,  and  re- 
member, Gondina  mine,  that  time  is  precious." 

The  maxim  was  not  quoted  in  its  usual  sense. 
To  gain  time  by  every  available  means  and  excuse 
was  the  object  just  then,  and  it  is  pathetic  to  read 
the  Marchese's  suggestions  for  creating  occasions 
of  delay.  When  he  gives  minute  directions  for 
one  proceeding  after  another,  even  going  so  far  as 
to  tell  his  wife  to  describe  him  as  an  irascible 
creature  whose  fury  she  dreaded,  he  knows  that 
unless  Heaven  intervenes  the  oppressor  will  have 
to  be  obeyed  in  the  end.  But  his  faith  in  the 
power  of  prayer  inspires  him  with  the  strongest 
hope  that  Heaven  will  intervene,  that  if  he  and  his 
wife  hold  out  to  the  last  moment  the  cup  of  the 
usurper's  iniquities  will  be  full,  and  that  the  divine 
vengeance  will  deprive  him  of  further  power  for 
evil.  But  the  time  was  not  yet,  and  Giovanni's 
faith  was  to  be  perfected  by  a  long  and  searching 
trial  before  it  was  finally  triumphantly  justified. 
The  Memoirs  show  him  sometimes  in  a  very  human 
light,  anxious  for  approbation,  not  incapable  of 
harmless  vanity,  disturbed  by  discomforts,  and  very 


CHARACTER  OF   PATRIZI  147 

sensible  of  material  alleviations  in  his  lot.  But  all 
these  little  flaws,  which  would  not  be  noticed  in  a 
less  exalted  character,  are  forgotten  in  presence  of 
the  man's  splendid,  unwavering  faith  in  God  and  the 
ultimate  victory  of  Right  over  Wrong,  the  faith  that 
never  faltered  and  gave  him  strength  to  contem- 
plate that  which  he  would  gladly  have  suffered 
martyrdom  to  prevent — the  imperilling  of  his 
children's  souls  by  the  insensate  tyranny  of  Napo- 
leon. In  his  later  years,  as  will  presently  be  shown, 
he  reproached  himself  for  having  taken  life  so  easily, 
and  often  expressed  profound  contrition  for  what 
he  called  his  sins.  From  the  dawn  of  reason  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  his  life,  and  that  of  all  de- 
pendent on  him,  was  regulated  by  the  most  scrupu- 
lous Christian  standards,  and  a  voluntary  offence 
against  God  was  a  misfortune  to  be  contemplated 
with  extreme  horror  ;  so  that  it  is  hard  for  us, 
with  the  diminished  sensitiveness  of  a  laxer  day,  to 
see  in  what  his  sinfulness  consisted. 

One  most  attractive  quality  in  Giovanni  Patrizi 
was  his  warm  love  of  his  friends.  Friendship, 
a  hundred  years  ago,  still  retained  the  sacredness 
of  a  tie  only  less  binding  than  blood-relationship. 
The  family  friends  were  called  into  its  councils, 
threw  themselves  into  its  interests,  and  sacrificed 
time  and  means  as  well  as  personal  comfort  in 
its  service — good  offices  so  deeply  appreciated  that 
they  were  returned  with  loving  interest  whenever 
the  opportunity  arose. 


148  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

At  the  end  of  the  long  letter  to  his  wife,  just  quoted, 
Giovanni  adds,  speaking  of  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani  : 

"  What,  then,  can  you  say  in  my  name  to  the 
incomparable  friend  ?  Tell  him  that  I  do  not 
know  how  even  to  begin  to  express  the  infinite 
gratitude  I  feel  towards  him.  Tell  him  that  my 
friendship  for  him  will  be  eternal,  and  that,  although 
we  may  be  separated  in  the  body,  we  shall  never 
be  separated  in  spirit,  either  in  this  life  or  in  the 
next,  as  I  trust  in  the  Divine  Infinite  Mercy. 
Tell  him  that  to  him  I  recommend  the  boys  and 
you — but  these  are  needless  words !  Tell  him 
that  he  must  recommend  me  earnestly  to  the  Lord 
— and  do  you  and  the  children  the  same — as  I 
unworthily  do  for  you  all,  and  embrace  you  all  in 
the  Adorable  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  Gondina 
mine,  for  pity's  sake  be  careful  of  your  health. 
I  entreat  you  to  understand  that  in  all  I  have  sug- 
gested I  have  no  intention  of  binding  you  in  any 
way,  but  that  I  leave  you  in  full,  fullest  liberty 
to  do  whatever  you  think  best.  I  wish  that,  if 
you  find  it  possible,  you  will  send  me  a  reply 
by  the  same  channel  which  conveys  this  letter 
to  you.  Gondina  mine,  who  would  have  thought, 
sixteen  years  ago  to-day,  that  I  should  be  writing 
to  you  from  this  place  ?     Such  is  this  world  ! 

''  Love  me  always,  and  believe  me,  with  the 
greatest  tenderness,  you  most  affectionate  husband, 

"  Giovanni." 


LOOKING  BACK  149 

On  the  same  day,  January  7,  18 12,  the  anni- 
versary of  their  wedding,  Gondina  echoes  her 
husband's  exclamation  : 

"If  any  one  had  told  us,  sixteen  years  ago, 
that  on  this  day  I  should  be  writing  to  you  from 
so  far  away,  I  wandering  about  and  you  shut  up 
in  a  fortress,  we  should  have  refused  to  believe 
him — and  yet  so  it  is  !  May  God  be  blessed  for 
it  nevertheless,  and  I  thank  Him  from  my  heart 
for  the  tranquillity  of  mind  He  gives  you  and 
which,  certainly,  can  only  come  from  Him." 


CHAPTER   VII 

The  irregularity  of  the  postal  arrangements,  as 
well  as  the  irritating  supervision  of  the  police,  left 
Giovanni  Patrizi  for  some  time  in  ignorance  of 
what  was  taking  place  in  Rome.  It  was  only  when 
his  wife  and  children  had  travelled  as  far  as  Siena 
and  were  resting  there  that  Cunegonda  was  able 
to  write  to  him  in  detail,  and  the  letter  was  long 
in  reaching  him  in  the  seclusion  of  Fenestrelle. 
Cunegonda  could  not  overcome  her  dislike  to 
writing  letters  which  had  to  pass  under  the  eyes 
of  the  authorities,  and  in  her  first  short  note  from 
Siena  announces  joyfully  that  she  has  found  a 
means  of  communicating  her  news  by  private  hand. 
On  January  3,  18 12,  she  writes  : 

'*  Dearest  Giovanni  mine,  I  have  had  the  great 
good  fortune  to  find  in  this  city  a  way  of  letting 
you  have  news  of  us,  and  I  am  immediately  taking 
advantage  of  it.  We  received  your  letter  from 
Bologna,  and  are  hoping  very  soon  to  get  one  from 
you  in  Turin,  but  you  must  be  anxious  about  us, 
having  heard  nothing  in  such  a  critical  moment. 
You  must  know,  then,  that  after   repeated  intima- 

150 


SIENA.     THE    CHAPEL    IN    THE    PIAZZA. 

Photo  A\oscioni,  Rome. 


CUNEGONDA  AT   SIENA  151 

tions,  each  more  pressing  than  the  last,  and  after 
various  menaces,  I  was  forced  to  leave  Rome  on 
December  26,  with  the  two  boys,  a  manservant, 
my  maid,  and,  instead  of  Parisani,  our  good  friend 
Don  Lorenzo,  as  I  wrote  you  to  Turin.  I  arrived 
here  "  (at  Siena)  "  on  the  30th,  and,  as  I  was  worn 
out  with  so  many  fatigues,  I  am  staying  for  some 
days.  1  have  a  bad  cold  and  really  need  to  rest 
in  order  to  find  strength  to  continue  the  long 
journey ;  but  the  thought  of  it  at  this  season 
alarms  me  greatly,  and  I  am  going  to  try  to 
obtain  permission  to  remain  here  at  least  until 
the  worst  of  the  winter  has  passed  ;  I  trust  that 
this  grace  will  not  be  refused  me.  ...  I  am  in- 
tensely anxious  to  get  some  detailed  news  of  you, 
and  I  am  hoping  that  you  will  be  able  to  send 
them  to  me  through  M.  Gazan,  who,  1  am  told, 
is  very  amiable,  and  full  of  cordiality  towards  the 
prisoners. 

"  So  I  beg  of  you  to  answer  this  letter  of  mine 
at  once,  for,  even  if  1  am  not  allowed  to  stay  here 
as  long  as  I  should  like,  I  will  certainly  remain 
long  enough  to  receive  your  letter.  1  have  good 
news  of  your  mother,  and  also  of  your  father — 
at  least  his  health  is  not  worse — Costantino  too 
is  well,  and  is  being  very  good.'* 

Costantino,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the 
Patrizis*  second  son,  ten  years  old  at  this  time, 
and,    on    account    of    his    rather    delicate     health 


152  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

exempted  from  the  general  kidnapping  scheme  which 
had  involved  his  family  in  so  much  trouble. 

This  seems  to  be  the  place  to  explain  that  the 
amiable  Monsieur  Gazan,  spoken  of  in  the 
Marchesa's  letter  to  her  husband,  was  a  French 
officer  acting  as  adjutant  in  the  garrison  of 
Fenestrelle.  He  still  kept  up  a  close  friendship 
with  a  former  prisoner  there,  a  certain  Luigi 
Custode,  who  was  now  living  in  Siena.  The 
correspondence  between  the  two  was  constant 
and  intimate,  the  officer,  who  was  afterwards 
denounced  to  the  authorities,  giving  his  friend 
minute  detailed  accounts  of  everything  that  occurred 
in  the  prison  and  interesting  himself  in  facilitating 
the  correspondence  of  the  inmates  with  their  friends 
and  relatives  in  the  outside  world.  The  Com- 
mandant of  Fenestrelle,  Monsieur  David,  was  also 
suspected  of  favouring  the  communications  of  the 
prisoners  with  their  friends,  and  was,  apparently, 
replaced  a  little  later  by  an  official  of  the 
Gendarmerie. 

Meanwhile  Cunegonda,  joyfully  availing  herself 
of  the  chance  to  write  a  coeur  ouvert  to  her 
husband,  sends  him,  on  the  "29  of  1812,"  a 
long  letter  finally  describing  ail  the  details  of  her 
enforced  departure  from  Rome. 

"  Dear  Giovanni  mine, 

"In  my  last  letter  I  told  you  that  I    had 
received    your    answer    to    mine    of   the   3rd.      I 


A  PRIVATE  LETTER  153 

cannot  express  the  consolation  it  was  to  me  to 
see  your  handwriting,  and  more  especially  to  receive 
the  assurance  of  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  spirit 
that  you  enjoy,  as  well  as  the  good  news  about 
your  health.  Already  from  Rome  I  wrote  you 
that  I  knew  of  all  this  from  others,  but  I  was 
ardently  desiring  to  have  it  confirmed  by  yourself. 

*'How  I  thank  God,  my  dear  Giovanni,  for 
all  the  graces  He  bestows  upon  you,  and  how 
many  things  I  would  like  to  say  to  you  on  this 
subject  ;  but  I  reserve  them  for  the  time  when 
it  shall  please  Him  that  we  can  see  one  another 
again,  and  meanwhile  I  pray  from  my  heart  that 
He  will  preserve  you  in  your  present  peace  and 
give  you  ever  greater  courage,  poor  Giovanni ! 

**  What  anxiety  you  must  have  been  in  at 
receiving  no  news  from  home — and  at  such  an 
exciting  time !  I  am  glad  I  was  the  first  to  set 
your  mind  more  at  ease,  but  I  cannot  understand 
how  it  was  that  the  letters  from  Rome  did  not 
reach  you,  since  your  mother  writes  me  that  the 
first  she  wrote  you  from  there "  (after  the 
Marchesa's  departure  with  the  boys)  "  was  sent 
on  the  28  th  of  December.  .  .  .  Before  this  corre- 
spondence of  ours  is  well  established "  (in  good 
working  order)  "  a  certain  time  will  doubtless  have 
to  pass,  and  I  hope  that  before  then  it  will  be  no 
longer  necessary  for  us  to  write  to  each  other 
at  all ! 

"  So  you  cannot  reconcile  all  those  threats  and 


154  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

orders  driving  me  away  from  Rome  with  the  refusal 
to  send  me  the  passports  ?  I,  to  whom  it  happened, 
cannot  understand  it  either.  It  is  true  that  I  was 
told  to  continue  my  preparations  for  departure,  but 
you  know  how  it  is  that,  for  a  journey  of  this  kind, 
there  are  many  things  that  cannot  be  done  or  decided 
until  the  day  is  fixed.  On  Sunday,  the  22nd  of 
December,  towards  the  Ave  Maria  "  (half  an  hour 
after  sunset)  "the  same  Commissary  Pepe"*  (who  had 
so  often  brought  disagreeable  messages  before)  **  pre- 
sented himself  and  informed  me  that  the  Director  of 
Police  had  given  the  strictest  orders  that  I  was  to 
leave  Rome  that  same  night  ;  but  that  he,  Pepe,  had 
obtained  for  me  the  grace  of  waiting  till  Monday  " 
(the  next)  '*  morning. 

"  I  replied  that  it  was  perfectly  impossible  for  me 
to  be  ready  in  such  a  short  time,  and  that  I  begged 
to  be  granted  at  least  until  the  day  after  Christmas. 
Pepe  went  off  to  transmit  this  request,  and  returned 
on  Monday  morning  to  say  that  unless  I  started  that 
moment  the  children  would  be  taken  away  without 
me.  I  had  instant  recourse  to  Christina"  (Cune- 
gonda's  sister  married  to  Massimo),  "  to  whom  I  was 
already  so  deeply  indebted  and  who  showed  me  her 
affection  once  more  on  this  occasion.  She  went  to 
the  Director,  and,  after  entreating  him  for  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  extorted  permission  for  me  to 
wait  until  the  26th,  as  I  had  asked.    There,  in  a  few 

*  Domenico   Pepe,  a  Neapolitan  who  stood  high  in  the  police. 
Not  to  be  confounded  with  Guglielmo  Pepe,  Murat's  general. 


CHRISTINA   INTERCEDES  155 

words,  is  the  story  of  my  vicissitudes  !  When  I  can 
describe  them  to  you  in  detail  you  will  be  astonished. 

"You  make  me  laugh  when  you  tell  me  you  are 
leading  a  life  of  ease  and  that  you  fear  you  are 
gaining  no  merit  thereby.  Do  you  think  you  have 
suffered  so  little  hitherto  ?  Now  you  have  a  little 
rest,  and  it  is  my  turn  to  carry  the  burden,  but  do 
not  worry  yourself  about  that  ;  you  know  I  have 
good  shoulders,  and  that  I  am  well  helped — so, 
courage — forward  ! 

**  I  am  not  surprised  that  you  never  received  the 
letter  I  wrote  you  to  Turin.  In  the  first  place,  it 
did  not  arrive  in  time,  and,  secondly,  the  person  to 
whom  I  had  confided  it — the  sister  of  a  friend  of 
mine — was  so  afraid  of  getting  compromised  that 
she  had  not  the  courage  to  send  it  to  you,  and  it 
still  reposes  in  her  possession.  This  is  the  sixth 
that  I  have  written  to  you.  ..." 

Here  follow  greetings  from  friends  in  Siena,  the 
announcement  that  Cunegonda  had  written  to  her 
mother-in-law  to  be  indulgent  with  Mariano  who 
had  deserted  his  master  in  order  to  get  married,  and 
a  list  of  names  which  at  least  show  that  the  sojourn 
in  Siena  was  a  fairly  pleasant  one  for  the  Marchesa 
and  her  children.  The  letter  closes  with  a  postscript 
from  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani. 

**  Never  speak  of  thanking  me.  It  is  I  who  must 
give  God  thanks,  for  I  have  ever  in  my  heart  the 
words  of  St.  Paul :  *  Communicating  to  the  necessi- 


156  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

ties  of  the  saints.'  Let  us  look  forward  to  thanking 
our  God  with  one  heart  and  one  voice  for  the  benefits 
which  He  daily  bestows  upon  us." 

One  seems  to  hear  the  language  of  the  Christians 
in  apostolic  times,  when  faith  inspired  their  every 
action,  and  to  this  faith  they  added  the  courage 
that  attains  to  heroism,  without  being  in  the  least 
conscious  of  it  ! 

The  Marchesa  Cunegonda  had  drawn  from  that 
source,  and  from  the  inexhaustible  one  of  maternal 
love,  the  strength  to  accompany  her  children,  not- 
withstanding the  dangers  which  she  must  confront 
on  the  way.  During  the  previous  winter  she  had 
been  violently  ill  with  pleurisy,  and  when  she  spoke 
of  her  contemplated  journey  to  the  family  physician, 
Dottor  Bomba,  he  had  energetically  opposed  such  a 
step,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  sheer  madness  for 
her  to  undertake  it.  Finding  he  could  not  shake 
her  resolve,  he  tried  to  take  matters  into  his  own 
hands,  and  appealed  to  the  authorities  to  forbid  the 
journey,  saying  that  the  Marchesa  was  so  troubled 
with  contractions  of  the  lungs,  difficulty  in  breathing, 
and  palpitation  of  the  heart,  that  to  undertake  a 
journey  now  would  in  all  probability  bring  on  a 
return  of  her  illness. 

The  only  reply  the  good  doctor's  expostulations 
called  forth  was  the  suggestion  that  another  escort 
should  be  found  for  the  Patrizi  children — a  sugges- 
tion which  only  served  to  strengthen  her  decision 
never  to  give  them  up  to  strangers. 


A  JUVENILE  DIARIST  157 

The  stages  of  the  journey  were  naively  described 
by  Filippo,  the  youngest  of  the  two  boys,  in  a  care- 
ful little  diary,  most  queerly  spelt,  which  he  kept 
during  the  whole  journey.  This  feat,  on  the  part 
of  a  child  only  eight  years  old,  is  a  crushing  contra- 
diction of  the  assertion,  so  often  made,  that  education 
was  at  a  very  low  ebb  in  Rome,  particularly  among 
the  aristocratic  classes.  It  is  doubtful  whether  a 
child  of  that  age,  in  any  country,  with  all  the  so- 
called  advantages  of  modern  schooling,  could  do 
better  to-day  than  little  Pippo  Patrizi  a  hundred 
years  ago. 

The  journal  opens  with  a  grandiose  inscription, 
written  as  large  as  the  small  hand  could  make  it,  to 
this  effect  : 

"  Diary  of  the  journey  from  Rome  to  Paris  made 
by  Philip  Patrizi  in  company  with  his  mother,  the 
Chevalier  Giustiniani,  his  brother  Saverio,  a  maid, 
and  a  man-servant. 

''  First  day  of  the  journey  (Thursday). 

^^  From  Rome  to  Ronciglione.  This  morning,  the 
26th  of  December,  we  left  home  at  8.15  by 
French  time,  with  our  own  carriage,  with  6  mules 
belonging  to  Pollastri,  and  a  coachman  named 
Tommato  Giusti  of  excellent  quality  (!),  and  another 
who  was  also  good,  but  I  do  not  know  his  name. 
Storto.  At  10  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Storto  ;  stayed 
there  a  little  and  continued  our  journey  towards 
'Baccano,     At   half-past    one    we    reached    Baccano, 


158  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

where,  having  restored  ourselves  at  a  fire,  we  had 
dinner,  and  dinner  was  a  soup  with  paste,  a  piece 
of  roast  veal,  a  fry  of  calves*  brains,  a  plate  of 
regagliey  larks,  sheeps'-milk  cheese,  and  wine  of 
Oriolo  and  also  of  Campagnano."  (Pippo  takes 
great  interest  in  his  dinner,  and  always  gives  full 
details  of  the  menu.) 

*'  Second  day  of  the  journey  (Friday). 

**  From  'S^nciglione  to  Viterho, 

**  At  half-past  five  in  the  morning  we  got  up, 
then  we  had  breakfast,  then  we  went  to  the  church 
of  St.  Sebastiano,  where  we  heard  Mass,  and  then 
at  8  o'clock  we  left  for  Viterbo.  Just  beyond 
Ronciglione  we  passed  over  the  mountain  of  Viterbo, 
where  from  a  certain  spot  you  can  see  the  lake  of 
Vico. 

"  Viterbo,  At  twelve  we  arrived  at  Viterbo  and 
went  to  stop  at  Casa  Chigi,  where,  when  we  had 
warmed  ourselves,  we  had  dinner."  (Here  follows 
the  menu,  of  course.)  "  After  dinner  we  went 
out,  Saverio  and  I,  with  M.  le  Chevalier  Giustiniani, 
and  we  went  to  the  church  of  San  Bernardo,  and 
then  to  the  church  of  Santa  Rosa,  where  we  saw  the 
saint's  body,  the  which  is  so  preserved  that  it  looks 
as  if  she  had  died  this  very  day  ;  and  then  we  went 
to  see  the  Porta  Fiorentina  and  the  Road  of  the 
Oak  outside  that  same  gate  ;  at  a  quarter  past  four 
we  returned  to  the  house,  where  we  found  Mon- 
signore  the  Bishop  of  Serrey  and  the  Russian 
Minister,  who  both  went  away  at  five  o'clock,  and 


ACQUAPENDENTE  159 

we  remained  in  conversation  with  Signor  Giacomo 
Chiuchiulini "  (there  must  have  been  a  struggle 
over  the  spelling  of  this  name),  "  the  steward  of 
Casa  Chigi.  Then,  being  at  liberty,  we  wrote  our 
journals,  had  supper,  and  went  to  bed  at  8  1/4. 

"  Third  day  (Saturday). 

<i  Prom  Viterbo  to  Acquapendente.^ 

"  Acquapendente.  Thus  called  on  account  of  a 
waterfall  named  the  Fifth  Moon.  Immediately  on 
entering  the  city  we  saw  a  pretty  little  church. 
The  streets  of  this  city  are  narrow,  but  well  paved. 
The  Post  Hotel,  where  we  stopped,  is  exceedingly 
bad.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  there  were  only  two 
rooms,  with  two  beds  in  each,  which  rooms  were 
close  next  to  those  of  the  vetturini ;  the  beds  were 
also  bad  ;  but  I  will  cease  to  abuse  the  hotel  and 
tell  about  the  supper.  First  I  must  say  that  the 
maid  at  the  hotel  tried  to  force  us  to  eat  meat,  this 
being  a  fast  day." 

Here  follows  a  scornful  account  of  the  improvised 
"  maigre  "  menu. 

"  After  supper  we  did  not  go  to  bed,  for  the 
reasons  I  have  explained,  but  I  slept  on  a  bench 
and  the  Chevalier  Giustiniani  before  the  fire.  We 
got  up  an  hour  afterwards,  that  is  to  say,  at  two 
in  the  morning,  and  came  away  from  Acquapendente 
and  the  horrid  hotel. 

■'*■  "  Hanging  water." 


i6o  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

**  Fourth  day  of  the  journey  (Sunday)  : 
**  From  Acquapendente  to  S,  Quirt  co.  After 
leaving  Acquapendente  we  crossed  the  Georgian 
Bridge  which  is  upon  the  river  Paglia,  and  then 
we  went  five  times  through  the  Rigo  torrent,  and 
then  we  stopped  at  Ponte  Centino,  the  last  posting- 
station  of  the  Papal  States,  where  four  horses  were 
attached  to  pull  us  up  the  mountain  of  Radicofani, 
the  which  is  as  steep  as  it  can  be  and  very  stony  ; 
when  one  reaches  a  certain  point  one  sees  Radicofani, 
and  you  think  you  have  arrived  there,  but  in  reality 
you  have  to  wind  round  and  round  for  a  long  time 
before  getting  to  it.  We  arrived  about  half-past 
eight  at  Radicofani,  which  is  lOO  miles  distant 
from  Rome  ;  there  we  heard  Mass,  and,  having 
restored  ourselves  at  the  fire,  had  dinner,  and  while 
we  were  dining  the  maid  told  us  that  the  room 
in  which  the  Holy  Father  Pius  VII  slept  when 
he  was  being  carried  away  from  Rome  had  burnt 
up  on  account  of  the  huge  fire  that  some  French 
soldiers  made.  The  end  of  a  beam  caught  fire, 
and  then  the  whole  room  got  burnt. 

"  At  half- past  twelve  we  left  Radicofani  to  go 
to  S.  Quirico  in  Tuscany  ;  before  arriving  there, 
there  is  the  river  Oricia ;  we  reached  S.  Quirico 
at  half-past  five,  and  went  to  lodge  in  the  Palazzo 
Chigi,  where  they  made  a  good  fire  for  us.  Then  we 
had  supper,  and  were  well  treated  at  that.  Then 
we  went  to  bed  ;  the  beds  were  all  covered  with 
red  damask,  with  the  canopies  all  of  red  damask  too. 


LETTERS  SCRUTIKISED  i6i 

*'  Fifth  day  of  the  journey  : 

"  From  S.  Quirico  to  Siena,  We  arrived  at  Siena 
at  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  alighted  at 
our  own  house,  had  supper,  and  many  Sienese 
gentlemen  came,  and  at  half-past  eleven  we  went 
to  bed.  In  this  city  (of  which  the  description 
shall  be  written  separately)  we  remained  5  months 
and  6  days." 

Pippo's  diary  ceases  here,  to  be  taken  up  religiously 
when  the  family  continues  its  very  slow  progress  to 
Paris.  His  mother  made  the  most  of  every  excuse 
to  linger  by  the  way,  hoping  against  hope  for  some 
unexpected  intervention  to  liberate  her  husband  and 
relieve  her  of  the  necessity  of  finally  carrying  out 
Napoleon's  orders  about  the  boys.  The  family 
was  terribly  embarrassed,  financially,  by  the  sequestra- 
tion of  its  revenues,  and  to  this,  by  Napoleon*s 
personal  order,  was  added  the  extreme  annoyance 
of  having  all  communications  to,  or  from,  the 
prisoner  of  Fenestrelle  sent  to  Norvins  and  Danzer, 
the  former  Director  of  Police  at  Turin,  the  latter 
filling  the  same  office  in  Rome.  Later  we  shall 
see  that  even  these  restrictions  were  not  considered 
sufficiently  severe,  and  that  the  Patrizi  correspondence 
had  to  be  consigned  to,  and  overhauled  by,  much 
more  exalted  personages. 

But,  as  we  know,  the  Marchesa  Cunegonda  had 
found  at  Siena  a  trustworthy  person  by  whose  good 
offices  she  was  enabled  to  write  almost  every  day 
II 


i62  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

to  her  husband,  and  to  receive  his  letters,  without 
their  having  been  submitted  to  censorship.  On 
February  3  she  writes  : 

"  My  dear  Gio, 

"  I  cannot  understand  why  you  do  not 
receive  the  letters  from  Rome,  and  I  know  how 
much  this  must  grieve  you.  As  long  as  I  am 
here  '*  (in  Siena)  "  it  does  not  matter  so  much,  since 
I  can  let  you  know  all  that  happens  at  home — 
since,  thank  God,  my  letters  reach  you  punctually. 
But,  if  I  leave  this  before  the  communications  are 
open,  it  will  be  a  great  hardship.  To-morrow  I 
will  write  to  my  mother-in-law  and  tell  her  how 
many  letters  you  have  written  home,  for  in  the 
last  one  to  me  she  complained  that  she  had  received 
nothing  from  you  since  the  1 9th  of  January.  I  have 
caused  inquiries  to  be  made  at  the  Police  Office, 
but  I  fear  they  will  prove  useless.  Really,  if  they 
keep  them  back  there,  it  seems  to  me  a  cruelty 
which  can  give  them  no  satisfaction,  for  surely  you 
have  not  written  anything  that  could  cause  alarm  ; 
but  it  is  true  they  find  something  to  criticise  in 
every  word,  and  I  heard  that  your  letters  to  me 
from  Civita  Vecchia,  which  I  missed  for  three  posts, 
were  kept  back  because  they  were  found  to  be  boute 
feu "  (incendiary),  ''  that  was  the  expression  they 
used  ! " 

The  obstinate   resistance  of  the    Patrizis   to  the 
imperial  demands  were  by  this  time  made  the  more 


CUNEGONDA'S  SISTERS  163 

conspicuous  to  the  Government  by  the  submission 
of  their  many  relations.  All  the  other  children 
ordered  to  go  to  France  were  either  already  there 
or  were  to  start  at  Easter,  including  the  sons  of 
Cunegonda's  sisters,  Princess  Altieri  and  the  Mar- 
chesa  Massimo.  On  February  7  she  gave  her  husband 
some  interesting  details  on  the  subject. 

"  Clementino  Altieri  will  only  be  enrolled  among 
the  (imperial)  pages  after  Easter.  Every  Sunday 
he  is  to  have  leave,  like  all  the  rest,  to  dine  with 
his  relations  and  stay  with  them  all  day.  This  does 
not  seem  to  me  such  a  very  great  thing.  They 
tell  me  the  Prince  is  rather  anxious  about  Augusto, 
but  they  have  not  explained  why.  Marianna" 
(Princess  Altieri)  "  went  to  dine  with  the  Empress 
Josephine,  who  made  a  great  deal  of  her.  On  New 
Year's  Day  Marianna  was  in  court  dress  for  four 
hours  on  end,  making  visits  to  all  the  kings  and 
queens  possible,  while  it  was  snowing  most  fear- 
fully. Christina "  (Marchesa  Massimo),  "  who  is 
always  joking,  says  that  she  can  see  from  Rome 
the  envy  by  which  I  am  devoured,  and  of  course 
she  is  right.     You  will  understand  that  .''  " 

There  was  great  hope  at  Siena  that  the  Marchese 
Giovanni's  imprisonment  would  be  commuted  to 
mere  exile  from  Rome,  in  which  case  he  could  have 
rejoined  his  family  at  Siena.  In  Cunegonda's  letter 
of  February  7  is  enclosed  one  from  Saverio  to  his 
father. 


i64  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

"  Dearest  Papa  mine, — 

*'  It  would  be  a  fine  thing  if,  one  of  these 
days,  while  we  are  all  here,  you  would  give  us  a 
surprise.  I  warn  you  beforehand  that  you  had 
better  put  on  an  iron  collar,  so  as  not  to  be  throttled 
by  my  hugging  you.  If  I  could  see  you,  even  at 
the  cost  of  pulling  your  carriage  all  the  way  from 
your  residence  to  ours,  I  would  do  it  gladly,  even 
all  by  myself.  Papa  mine,  I  pray  you  to  believe  me 
"  Your  devoted,  loving  son, 

'*  Saverio.** 

In  addressing  their  parents,  either  by  writing  or 
speaking,  the  Patrizi  boys,  like  all  well-brought-up 
children  at  the  present  day,  used  the  third  person, 
the  courteous  ''  Lei,"  for  which  we  have  no  synony- 
mous form  in  English.  Even  the  Marchese  and 
his  wife  always  employ  the  formal  ''  You  "  to  each 
other  in  their  correspondence,  "  Thou,"  the  tutoiement 
so  familiar  to  us  now,  being  considered  in  those  days 
too  common  for  the  use  of  refined  persons,  even 
those  most  closely  related.  In  the  south  of  Italy 
"  You  "  is  the  general  form  of  respectful  address, 
even  to  very  exalted  personages. 

The  stay  in  Siena  proved  the  least  painful  stage 
of  Marchesa  Cunegonda's  sorrowful  journey.  The 
children  most  tactfully  managed  to  catch  a  very 
light  form  of  measles,  which  gave  her  a  good  excuse 
to  prolong  the  halt  and  nurse  herself,  instead  of 
continuing  to  travel  in  the  depth  of  winter.     Her 


SIENA.     PIAZZA    AND    TOWN    HALL. 

Fhoto  A\oscioni,  Rome. 


A  *' FORTUNATE  CONTRETEMPS"   165 

pleasure  at  this  fortunate  contretemps  causes  her  to 
reproach  herself  contritely  for  her  selfishness  later  ; 
but  meanwhile  valuable  time  had  been  gained.  The 
prisoner  at  Fenestrelle  was  delighted  at  the  news — 
anything  was  good  which  delayed  the  consigning 
of  the  boys  to  the  abhorred  French  school.  But 
the  matter  was  viewed  in  a  very  different  light  by 
Giovanni's  father  and  mother,  who  believed  that  he 
would  be  set  at  liberty  as  soon  as  the  boys  had 
arrived  at  La  Fl^che. 

On  February  1 2  Cunegonda  writes  to  her  husband: 
'*  I  have  sent  the  medical  certificate  to  Paris  in  order 
that  my  delay  may  not  be  imputed  to  me  as  an 
added  crime.  My  sister"  (Altieri)  "must  have 
received  it  by  this  time.  I  have  had  a  letter  from 
her  this  morning  saying  that  she  has  heard  of  the 
boys'  illness,  that  she  is  sorry  not  to  see  me  so 
soon  as  she  had  hoped,  but  that  I  must  let  the  boys 
have  every  care.  She  added  that,  a  few  days  earlier, 
the  Minister  of  Police,  the  Due  de  Rovigo,  had 
inquired  of  her  whether  I  had  arrived,  and  she  told 
him  that  I  had  stopped  in  Siena,  as  I  was  ill,  a  thing 
which  she  had  certainly  foreseen,  knowing  how  bad 
the  journey  would  be  for  me.  She  did  not  know 
then  of  the  boys'  illness,  but  she  will  tell  him  (the 
Minister  of  Police)  at  the  first  opportunity.  Your 
mother,  although  she  wants  the  children  to  recover 
completely,  is  frenzied  to  have  me  get  to  Paris, 
hoping  that  then  I  shall  obtain  your  immediate 
liberation,  and  this  is  what  was  told  to  my  sister 


i66  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

when  she  interceded  for  you  ;  but  I,  who  know  you, 
am  more  than  sure  that  you  are  not  in  any  such 
hurry  to  come  out — on  these  terms "  (of  giving 
up  the  children). 


The  Archbishop  of  Siena,  Cardinal  Zondadari, 
who  had  shown  so  much  friendship  for  Giovanni, 
manifested  the  most  delicate  and  kind  attentions  to 
Cunegonda.  He  came  to  see  her  constantly,  and 
was  able,  through  her,  to  communicate  with  Cardinal 
Pacca,  Giovanni's  fellow  prisoner  at  Fenestrelle,  who 
was  always  designated  in  this  clandestine  correspond- 
ence as  "La  Pecorella,"  the  " Lamb."  The  noble 
ladies  of  Siena  vied  with  each  other  in  showing 
courtesy  towards  the  Marchesa  Patrizi,  and  so  over- 
whelmed her  with  visits  that  she  had  to  make  quite 
a  struggle  to  have  for  herself  the  morning  hours 
which  she  devoted  to  exercises  of  piety  and  to 
continuing  the  education  of  her  children,  teaching 
them  some  subjects  herself  and  superintending  the 
instructions  of  the  masters  she  engaged  for  them, 
being  especially  anxious  that  they  should  progress 
in  their  Italian  and  in  their  French.  It  may  sound 
strange  that  the  Marchesa  should  have  been  anxious 
for  her  children  to  be  instructed  in  the  language 
of  their  own  country  ;  but  her  pre-occupation  is 
explained  when  we  remember  that  almost  all  regular 
instruction  was  given  in  Latin,  and  that,  in   con- 


RESTING  AT  SIENA  167 

sequence,  the  complicated  elegancies  of  '*  high " 
Italian  often  remained  a  closed  book  to  those  who 
knew  it  merely  as  the  ordinary  medium  of  com- 
munication with  their  fellow  men. 

Siena  was  a  gay,  self-contained  little  city  in  those 
days,  and  many  were  the  hospitalities  offered  to  the 
Marchesa  Patrizi ;  but  she  would  accept  no  invitations 
till  just  before  her  departure,  fearing  that  the 
authorities  would,  if  she  were  known  to  be  amusing 
herself,  no  longer  allow  the  delay  on  the  count  of 
her  health,  which  indeed  made  it  more  prudent  for 
her  to  rest  as  much  as  possible  before  resuming  the 
journey  to  Paris.  There  was  then  in  Siena  a  step- 
brother of  her  father-in-law,  the  *  Bailli  *  (acting 
Grand  Master)  of  Malta,  Ruspoli,  a  charming  old 
gentleman  whose  quaint  ways  often  afforded  much 
amusement  to  his  relations. 

The  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Malta  had  been 
practically  suppressed  in  1798  when  Napoleon,  on 
his  way  to  Egypt,  took  possession  of  the  island  and 
forced  the  Grand  Master,  Ferdinand  von  Hompesch, 
to  resign.  Paul  I  of  Russia,  although  not  a 
Catholic,  was  then  recognised  by  the  Pope  and  the 
members  of  the  Order  as  Grand  Master,  but  on  his 
death  in  1801  his  successor,  Alexander  I,  refused 
the  honour,  and  the  Order  was  administered  for  over 
seventy  years  by  a  vicegerent  in  Rome.  There  was 
a  clause  in  the  Treaty  of  Amiens  (1802)  stipulat- 
ing that  the  island  of  Malta  was  to  be  ceded  to  its 
rightful  owners  ;  but  the  further  outbreak  of  war 


i68  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

prevented  the  restitution,  and  the  Order  was  home- 
less till,  in  1827,  Leo  XII  invited  it  to  take  refuge 
in  the  Pontifical  Dominion,  an  act  of  hospitality 
which  Gregory  XVI  completed  by  authorising  its 
definite  installation  in  Rome  in  1831.  One  of  the 
first  acts  of  Leo  XIII  was  to  restore  the  ancient 
dignity  of  the  illustrious  Order,  and,  after  being 
in  abeyance  for  seventy-four  years,  the  title  of 
Grand  Master  was  revived  on  March  28,  1879. 
There  is  a  curious  provision  in  the  Statutes  that 
Knights  of  Bohemian  extraction  must  have  sixteen 
quarterings,  but  for  those  of  all  other  nations  only 
four  are  required. 

The  noble  Order  was  suffering  eclipse  when  the 
Marchesa  Patrizi  made  her  long  halt  in  Siena,  and 
*  Uncle  Ruspoli,'  who,  since  the  Napoleonic  in- 
vasion, had  acquired  the  habit  of  spending  a  great 
part  of  each  winter  in  the  cosy  Tuscan  city,  was  a 
most  cheerful  companion  in  the  house.  Like  every 
one  else,  he  had  fallen  deeply  in  love  with  Cunegonda 
when  she  entered  the  family  as  a  bride,  and  though 
he  did  not,  like  her  father-in-law,  exalt  her  charm 
in  verse,  he  was  to  the  end  one  of  her  most  devoted 
adherents.  He  was  a  man  who  lived  by  rule  even 
to  his  own  inconvenience,  for,  regardless  of  what  the 
weather  might  be  doing,  he  always  put  on  his  heavy 
winter  clothes  on  a  fixed  day,  as  also  his  nankeen 
breeches,  at  the  cost  of  many  a  shiver,  at  a  particular 
moment  of  the  Spring  ;  his  ideal  of  comfort  was 
stability,    and   poor  Cunegonda,   driven   about   the 


A   KNIGHT  OF  MALTA  169 

world  in  a   tide  of  uncertainties,  appeared  to  him 
deserving  of  the  deepest  commiseration. 

A  poor  woman  in  Siena,  whose  aunt  had  been 
employed  at  the  Palazzo  Patrizi  a  hundred  years 
earlier,  told  the  writer  of  the  Memoirs  a  quaint 
anecdote  about  the  good  *  Bailli/  Among  the 
habits  which  he  had  formed,  and  which  his  metho- 
dical mind  caused  him  to  regard  as  solemn  duties, 
was  that  of  paying  every  day  a  visit  to  the  Sanctuary 
of  the  Madonna  of  Provenzano,  and  of  giving  alms 
to  at  least  one  poor  mendicant  on  the  road.  One 
day,  in  the  heart  of  the  winter,  the  snow  was 
falling  very  heavily,  and  there  was  not  a  living 
creature  in  sight.  Sighing  deeply,  but  never  dream- 
ing of  omitting  his  daily  pilgrimage,  the  *  Bailli ' 
came  out,  went  down  to  the  Provenzano  Church, 
made  his  visit  to  his  beloved  little  Madonna,  and 
turned  homewards,  hoping  with  all  his  heart  that 
he  would  meet  one  of  his  many  prot^g^s  before 
he  reached  the  Palazzo  Patrizi.  But  fate  was 
against  him — even  the  beggars  would  not  stir  out 
of  doors,  and  he  found  himself  at  home  without 
having  been  able  to  bestow  his  alms  !  Well,  since 
the  beggars  would  not  come  to  him,  he  must  go 
and  look  for  them — a  Knight  of  Malta  could  not 
break  his  word.  So,  in  face  of  the  raging  snow- 
storm, he  trudged  on  to  the  Duomo,  and  just  as 
a  wild  gust  carried  away  his  hat  he  perceived  an 
old  woman  tottering  towards  him  with  outstretched 
hand. 


170  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

**  May  God  reward  you  for  your  alms ! "  she 
said,  as  he  dropped  the  silver  piece  in  her  palm. 

"  May  God  reward  you^''  cried  the  Bailli,  "  for 
having  asked  it  of  me  I  If  you  had  not,  Heaven 
knows  how  far  I  might  have  had  to  go  !  "  And 
he  plunged  away,  racing  after  his  hat,  which  had 
fortunately  taken  the  right  road  home. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

On  February  24  Cunegonda  Patrizi  wrote  an  un- 
usually long  letter  to  her  husband,  having  received 
two  of  his  together  on  the  preceding  day. 

"...  You  describe  your  Carnival  dissipations — 
a  dinner  party  on  Jeudi  Gras — I  am  sure  it  must 
have  been  very  cheerful ;  a  good  conscience  and 
the  company  of  gallant  gentlemen  could  have  no 
other  result.  My  carnival  was  even  less  brilliant 
than  yours,  for  I  should  have  been  unconscious  of 
the  season  but  for  hearing  others  speak  of  it,  and 
but  for  the  annoyance  of  being  waked  up  at  night 
by  the  sound  of  the  revellers'  carriages.  To-day 
I  was  obliged  to  interrupt  the  Lenten  Fast,  finding 
that  I  had  not  the  strength  to  accomplish  it,  and 
now  I  have  been  forbidden  to  make  the  attempt 
at  all." 

It  may  be  well  to  explain  here  that  the  Lenten 
Fast  in  Italy  was  exceedingly  rigorous  in  those 
days,  most  of  the  faithful  taking  neither  bite  nor 
sup  till  three  in  the  afternoon.  The  custom  now 
is  confined  chiefly  to  the  stricter  of  the  religious 
communities,  the  Holy  See  having,  in  indulgence 
to  the  exigencies  of  modern  life,  enacted  that  there 

171 


172  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

shall  only  be  four  or  five  such  fasts  in  the  whole 
year.  But  abstinence  is  still  very  strictly  observed 
all  through  southern  Italy.  In  many  districts  meat, 
milk,  eggs,  and  lard  are  banished  from  the  tables  of 
the  peasants  from  Ash  Wednesday  till  Easter  Sunday. 

Cunegonda  continues  : 

"  Now  I  come  to  your  letter  of  the  1 3th. 
There  is  no  truth  in  what  you  say  about  standing 
idle  with  your  hands  in  your  pockets  and  not 
bearing  with  me  the  burden  of  the  trial,  and  I 
will  prove  it  to  you,  for  what  is  the  heaviest 
part  of  this  cross?  It  does  not  lie  in  mere 
travelling  and  external  discomforts,  but  in  the 
separation  and  dispersion  of  the  family,  in  the 
purpose  of  this  journey,  in  the  exile  from  home, 
and  so  on  ;  and  all  this  you  suffer  equally  with 
me,  besides  your  isolation  and  your  ignorance  of 
what  may  be  happening,  which  presents  things  to 
your  imagination  as  worse  than  they  really  are  ; 
so  you  see  that  I  am  right  in  saying  that  your 
part  of  the  cross  is  sufficiently  heavy  !  I  admit 
that  mine  is  not  light,  but  I  deserve  worse  things, 
and  I  am  sure  of  being  effectually  helped,  so  do 
not  make  yourself  unhappy  about  me ;  but  also 
do  not  cease  to  pray  fervently  for  me  and  to 
recommend  me  to  the  special  prayers  of  those 
your  friends  and  companions,  including  the 
*  Lamb,*  who  I  hope  will  not  refuse  me  this 
favour  for  your  sake.  .  .  . 

**I  was  sure  that  you  would  have  been  pleased 


TOMMASO  THE  "  VETTURINO '*        173 

to  hear  that  the  good  Tommaso  *  was  destined 
from  the  first  to  bring  me  on  this  journey.  We 
can  really  give  him  the  diploma  of  vetturino 
of  Casa  Patrizi,  for  he  always  appears  in  Rome 
when  we  are  about  to  travel.  This  time  he 
remained  long  in  the  city  in  the  hope  of  that 
which  finally  happened,  namely,  that  he  might 
accompany,  or  rather,  conduct  me  to  Paris.  I 
must  confess  that  it  used  to  make  me  a  little 
angry  to  see  him  sitting  in  the  anteroom,  know- 
ing that  he  was  promising  himself  the  pleasure  of 
taking  me — when  I  had  not  yet  decided  on  going 
at  all.  I  told  him  so  afterwards,  and  he  replied 
that,  on  the  morning  of  our  departure,  if  I  had 
lingered  but  half  an  hour  longer,  he  would  have 
got  down  from  his  horse  and  renounced  the  job 
altogether,  so  dreadfully  cruel  did  the  separation 
appear  to  him,  so  moved  was  he  not  only  by  our 
tears  but  by  the  tears  and  lamentations  of  the 
crowds  that  gathered  on  the  stairs,  many  of  them 
not  even  members  of  the  household. 

"It  is  true  that  he  charges  a  great  deal,  but  he 
takes  the  entire  care  for  the  travelling  off  my 
mind.  Before  I  left  Rome,  foreseeing  that  I 
should  make  a  little  stay  here  (although  I  had 
no  idea  it  would  have  to  be  such  a  long  one)  I 
wanted  to  arrange  with  him  that  he  should  leave 
me    here    and    go  to    Florence    meanwhile  to  take 

*  This  man  was  an  owner  and  driver    of  posting-horses   and 
carriages  in  Rome. 


174  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

advantage  of  any  short  engagements  he  could 
procure  ;  but  he  would  not  consent  to  this,  so  we 
agreed  that,  while  I  should  stay  in  Siena,  I  was  to 
pay  for  the  feeding  of  the  mules,  but  no  wages 
either  to  him  or  the  other  man. 

"  But,  from  the  very  first  day  we  arrived  here, 
he  began  to  complain  that  the  allowance  for  the 
mules  was  insufficient,  so  I  sent  for  him  and  told 
him  to  reconsider  my  first  proposition,  since  he 
could  earn  nothing  while  waiting  here,  while  the 
mules  were  a  sheer  loss.  That  I  would  pay  him 
his  journey  back  to  Florence,  where  he  must  go 
and  work  for  some  one  else,  and  that  as  soon  as 
I  should  need  him  again  I  v/ould  write  to  Pollastri 
to  send  him  back  to  me — to  all  of  which  he 
consented,  and  it  is  much  better  so  for  him  and 
for  me.  .  .  . 

"  You  were  mistaken  in  your  explanation  of  the 
term,  houte-feu,  applied  to  your  letters  from 
Civita  Vecchia.  They  "  (the  police)  '*  called  them 
so  because,  as  they  declared,  you  roused  me  to 
resistance,  animating  me  to  imitate  your  conduct, 
to  be  courageous,  and  showing  that  you  regarded 
yourself  as  a  martyr  ;  for  all  these  reasons,  they 
said,  the  letters  were  as  incendiary  as  the  notes 
you  had  written  to  the  Prefect  and  others.  .  .  . 

**  Marianna  "  (Altieri)  "  is  leading  in  Paris  a  life 
very  diflferent  from  her  Roman  one.  The  Empress 
Josephine,  who  remembers  being  at  school  in  the 
convent  with  her,  overwhelms  her  with  attentions 


i&^i. 


THE  EMPRESS  JOSEPHINE  175 

and  kindnesses  ;  she  constantly  has  her  with  her  at 
Malmaison,  and  tells  her  to  come  and  dine  when- 
ever she  feels  inclined.  The  first  time  Marianna 
dined  with  her  it  was  by  formal  invitation,  and 
Marianna  says  that  the  luxury  and  elegance  of  the 
dinner  surpassed  all  imagination,  particularly  in  the 
matters  of  flowers  and  porcelains.  Afterwards  there 
was  music,  the  musician  Crescentini  and  Maestro 
Pez  being  among  the  guests.  In  fine,  Marianna 
only  got  back  to  Paris  after  midnight  ;  what  do  you 
say  of  it  ?     But  I  do  not  envy  her  at  all." 

Without  feeling  envy  it  must  have  been  a  little 
depressing  to  the  Marchesa  to  contrast  her  sister's 
cheerful  lot  with  her  own  rather  isolated  and 
melancholy  one  at  this  time.  The  course  things 
were  taking  in  Rome  was  not  calculated  to 
raise  her  spirits.  On  March  2  she  writes  to  her 
husband  : 

**  You  may  have  heard  that  the  "  (religious)  "  Com- 
panies and  Confraternities  have  been  ordered  to 
submit  to  the  authority  of  the  Delegates,  and  are 
invited  (!)  to  pay  all  their  revenues  into  a  public 
coffer,  because  in  this  manner  they  will  be  better 
administered  and  the  cult  of  religion  much  increased. 
Such  are  the  motives  furnished  for  this  change,  and 
as  yet  no  word  has  been  spoken  of  pillage  or  of 
diminishing  the  number  of  religious  ceremonies — 
indeed,  they  are  to  be  increased  ...  if  you  can 
manage  to  believe  it  !  " 

A  day  or  two  later  Cunegonda  gives  tidings  of 


176  THE  PATRI2I  MEMOIRS 

some  of  the  other  children  kidnapped  for  the  famous 
"  Golden  Levy." 

"  Clemente  Altieri  is  to  become  a  page  after  Easter. 
Augusto  is  not  yet  sure  of  remaining  with  his 
parents.  Pippo  Lante,  also  named  a  page,  has 
obtained  permission  to  stay  in  Rome  till  he  is  fifteen 
and  a  half,  the  age  designated  for  entering  that  com- 
pany. As  he  is  scarcely  twelve,  he  has  time  before 
him  !  Alessandro  Spada  decided  on  military  rather 
than  civil  service.  Guido  is  already  in  a  regiment 
of  hussars,  and  Luigi  is  a  page." 

The  next  letter  concerns  the  attempts  of  the 
authorities  to  gather  the  foremost  men  of  Siena  into 
its  Government  as  a  province  of  France.  They  met 
with  some  difficulties,  and  it  may  have  been  that 
Giovanni  Patrizi,  when  he  read  his  wife's  communi- 
cation, was  inclined  to  congratulate  himself  on  his 
enforced  absence  ;  but  it  seems  more  likely,  con- 
sidering his  fighting  spirit,  that  he  regretted  losing 
such  an  opportunity  of  causing  trouble  to  the 
detested  usurpers. 

^^  March  9,  181 2. 

"...  In  Rome  the  nomination  of  electors, 
senators,  and  dignitaries  goes  on.  The  retirement 
of  Doria  and  the  '  Conn^table  '  has  been  accepted, 
but  I  fear  they  will  not  escape  from  having  to  take 
the  oath.  Three  lists  have  been  sent  to  Paris  :  one 
of  those  who  refuse "  (office)  "  flatly  and  without 
giving  any  reasons  ;  one  of  those  who  have  valid 
reasons  for  their  refusal ;  and  the  third  of  those  who 


UNCOVETED  HONOURS  177 

have  accepted.  It  is  believed  that  the  Duke  Braschi 
will  be  chosen  by  the  Emperor  (for  supreme  office) 
out  of  the  three  proposed  to  him  by  the  Senate  ;  the 
other  two  are  Chigi  and  Giustiniani.  Six  deputies 
have  been  elected  to  thank  His  Majesty  for  the 
honour  done  to  Rome  ;  but  I  cannot  tell  you  in 
what  the  honour  consists,  unless  it  is  that  of  having 
given  it  this  new  court  of  electors  " — here  follow  six 
well-known  names. 

^^  March  i6. 

"  Your  father  is  apprehensive  of  being  obliged  to 
take  the  oath,  as  that  condition  has  been  laid  on  all 
those  who  refused  to  be  electors  ;  among  the  rest 
is  C.  Viscardi,  who  gave  as  excuse  that  he  was 
merely  a  *  fils  de  famille  '  "  (without  personal  status, 
since  his  father  was  living), "  that  his  father  was  already 
an  official  of  the  Government,  and,  finally,  that  he 
himself  had  been  ill  in  bed  for  three  months.  He 
was  told  that  his  arguments  were  all  perfectly  sound 
ones,  but  that  he  could  quite  well  take  the  oath — in 
bed ! 

"...  The  other  day  I  had  as  a  guest  at  dinner 
the  Abbe  Nicolai  of  the  Penitenzeria,  who  was 
exiled  from  Rome  to  Florence  after  seven  months' 
imprisonment  in  Castel  Sant*  Angelo.  .  .  .  Please 
thank  in  my  name  the  '  Lamb '  for  having  said  his 
Mass  for  me  on  my  feast-day.  I  very  much  appre- 
ciate his  kind  remembrance,  and  tell  him  that  I 
return  it  as  well  as  I  can,  by  recommending  him  to 
God.  .  .  .  Parisani  writes  me  that  Cristina  was  pay- 
12 


178  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

ing  a  visit  to  Montbreton  "  (the  Director  of  Police) 
"  and  that  in  speaking  of  you  he  remarked  how  well 
you  write,  adding  that  at  the  beginning  he  read  all 
your  letters,  but  that  now  he  no  longer  does  so. 
But  this  I  do  not  much  believe.*' 

In  fact,  the  Marchese's  correspondence  was  being 
very  strictly  censored  at  this  time,  and  even  the 
harmless  little  letters  of  the  boys  were  sequestrated 
as  dangerous  communications.  Saverio,  the  eldest, 
describes  to  his  father  with  much  amusement  the 
suspicions  thus  excited. 

*'  I  wrote  a  little  while  ago  to  Costantino  "  (the 
younger  brother  left  in  Rome)  *'  a  letter  in  Tuscan, 
with  many  words  which  are  only  understood  here  ; 
but  it  was  evidently  mistaken  for  a  dangerous  snare, 
and  my  letter  was  sequestrated  in  the  post.  Oh,  let 
them  only  get  it  interpreted  and  they  will  discover 
great  conspiracies  !     Oh,  what  idiots  they  are  !  " 

Naturally  the  correspondence  of  Patrizi  and  his 
wife  could  not  long  escape  the  watchfulness  of  the 
police.  In  the  State  Archives  in  Paris  there  is  a 
great  file  of  intercepted  letters,  police  reports,  secret 
communications,  and  imperial  orders  which  testify 
most  eloquently  to  the  hatred,  amounting  to  personal 
rancour,  which  Napoleon  at  this  time  nourished 
towards  the  Patrizi  family.  It  had  become  an  obses- 
sion with  him,  surprising  even  his  own  subordinates 
into  something  very  like  protests.  From  the  politi- 
cal point  of  view  Giovanni  and  his  father  were  the 


NAPOLEON'S  RANCOUR  179 

most  harmless  of  adversaries  ;  they  did  nothing  to 
dissuade  others  from  obeying  the  Emperor's  behests, 
kept  scrupulously  apart  from  intrigues  subversive  of 
his  authority,  and  only  opposed  him  when  he  tres- 
passed on  their  indisputable  private  rights  regarding 
the  education  of  the  children,  and  in  refusing  to 
enter  the  public  services  to  which  his  gallicising 
policy  had,  so  to  speak,  condemned  the  Roman 
nobility.  One  would  have  expected  the  Conqueror 
of  Europe  to  pass  over  their  recalcitrance  in  scornful 
silence — the  Statesman  to  have  avoided  the  mistake 
of  distinguishing  them  as  martyrs  to  a  lost  and  noble 
cause  ;  but  they  had  committed  the,  to  him,  unpardon- 
able crime  of  proving  themselves  unconquerable. 
This  quiet,  old-fashioned  family  had  refused  to  be 
bribed  or  cajoled  or  terrified  into  even  superficial 
submission  to  his  will  ;  they  had  yielded  to  force, 
and  force  alone,  and  this  was  an  intolerable  humilia- 
tion to  him,  and  one  that  evidently  bit  very  deep 
into  his  proud  spirit.  There  remained  nothing  for 
him  to  do  but  revenge  himself,  and  he  was  by  just 
so  much  wanting  in  real  greatness  as  to  be  unable  to 
do  so  with  the  laugh  and  the  joke  which  would  have 
consigned  their  rebellion  to  obscurity.  His  amazing 
brain  found  time,  amid  a  thousand  preoccupations  of 
world-wide  importance,  to  invent  small  spites  in 
order  to  make  them  feel  his  power.  He  actually 
gave  orders  that  their  correspondence  was  to  pass 
through  his  own  hands.  Every  letter  written  by  or 
addressed  to  Giovanni  Patrizi,  the  prisoner  of  Fene- 


i8o  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

strelle,  was  to  be  sent  to  him  so  long  as  he  should 
be  in  France,  and,  in  case  of  his  absence  from  the 
country,  was  to  be  personally  examined  by  the  Prime 
Minister  ;  so  that,  sad  to  say,  the  larger  part  of 
those  letters,  still  hoarded  in  the  State  Archives  in 
Paris,  never  reached  their  destination  at  all. 

Cunegonda's  joy,  therefore,  at  finding  a  safe 
means  of  communication  with  her  husband  from 
Siena  was  very  short-lived.  One  can  imagine  how 
the  imperial  wrath  flamed  out  when  it  was  dis- 
covered, as  before  stated,  that  the  too  soft-hearted 
M.  Gazan  of  Fenestrelle  was  making  himself  and 
his  old  friend  at  Siena  intermediaries  for  the  cor- 
respondence of  Giovanni  Patrizi  with  his  wife.  The 
information  was  conveyed  to  the  Ministry  in  a  long 
and  excited  letter  from  Desmarets,  the  Agent  of 
Police,  to  the  Due  de  Rovigo  in  Paris,  and  the 
various  enclosures  forwarded  gave  but  too  evident 
proof  of  poor  M.  Gazan *s  indiscreet  indulgence. 
What  became  of  M.  Gazan  the  documents  at  our 
disposal  do  not  say,  but  his  name  never  appears 
again.  M.  David,  the  Commandant,  seems  to  have 
been  reprimanded  for  negligence,  but  he  retained 
his  position  nevertheless. 

It  was  unfortunately  Giovanni  himself  who  most 
involuntarily  betrayed  his  benefactor.  A  letter  from 
him  to  the  Banker  Rolli,  in  Turin,  was  intercepted 
there  by  the  police,  and  was  found  to  contain  very 
questionable  matter  in  the  shape  of  two  letters 
enclosed,   one  written    by    Count    Baccili,   a    fellow 


THE   POLICE  CENSORSHIP  i8i 

prisoner  at  Fenestrelle,  to  the  Bishop  of  Vienne 
(France),  and  another,  from  Giovanni,  addressed  to 
a  certain  Signora  Camilla  Cecchini  in  Siena.  This 
last,  being  opened,  disclosed  another  letter  inside 
addressed  to  the  Marchesa  Patrizi,  and  the  contents 
were  at  once  translated  into  French  and  forwarded 
to  Paris.  Poor  Giovanni  writes  to  warn  his  wife 
against  an  indiscretion  which,  by  his  own  inad- 
vertence, was  now  to  prove  all  but  fatal  to  their 
communication  with  one  another  : 

'*  In  your  letter  of  January  27  there  was  a  great 
oversight  which  has  caused  me  some  anxiety.  In 
this  letter,  which  you  sent  through  the  post,  you 
spoke  of  those  which  you  had  received  through 
M.  Louis  Custode  and  M.  Gazan.  That  might 
have  compromised  M.  Gazan  and  the  Commandant 
of  the  Fort.  As  your  letter  had  passed  through 
the  hands  of  the  police  in  Turin,  I  received  it 
opened,  as  my  letters  always  are  when  they  are 
addressed  directly  to  myself.  Fortunately,  it  is  said 
that  the  police  there "  (in  Turin)  ^'  are  not  over 
strict.  .  .  ." 

Both  husband  and  wife  were  kept  carefully  in 
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  their  secret  was  discovered, 
and  they  continued  to  write  to  each  other  without 
reserve,  much  to  the  satisfaction,  no  doubt,  of  the 
authorities,  who  were  thus  kept  posted  not  only 
on  all  their  private  affairs,  but  on  their  plans  and 
hopes  for  their  immediate  future. 

The  kind  rigours  of  the  winter,  which  had  per- 


i82  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

mitted  Cunegonda  to  have  some  months  of  rest 
and  comparative  peace  among  her  friends  at  Siena, 
had  passed  away,  and  the  lovely  Tuscan  spring  that 
called  the  almond-trees  into  blossom  and  the  larks 
into  song,  sounded  for  her  the  hour  when  she 
must  resume  her  sad  journey  to  France.  There 
was  no  further  valid  excuse  for  delay,  and  on 
April  3  she  wrote,  as  she  fondly  believed  for 
Giovanni's  eyes  alone,  the  following  letter  : 

"...  I  cannot  tell  you  the  precise  day  of  my 
departure,  for  I  have  not  decided  on  it  yet  ;  it 
depends  on  the  letter  from  Florence  "  (presumably 
concerning  the  Vetturino  Tommaso)  "  which  I 
expect  on  Sunday.  Naturally  I  shall  be  moving 
from  here  towards  the  15th. 

"  On  Sunday  I  am  invited  to  dinner  at  Casa 
Chigi,  to  see  afterwards  the  grand  procession  of 
which  I  told  you  in  my  last.  The  Marchesa  had 
invited  me  as  soon  as  I  arrived  in  Siena,  and  both 
she  and  the  Cardinal  have  done  so  repeatedly  since 
then,  but  I  always  refused  on  the  grounds  of  my 
health,  and  also  because,  as  I  was  here  in  a  kind 
of  incognito,  I  did  not  wish  to  appear  in  the  great 
world  ;  but  now  that  I  am  on  the  point  of  leaving 
I  will  not  refuse  "  (the  Marchesa  Chigi),  *'  and  I 
foresee  that  I  shall  also  have  to  accept  an  invitation 
from  the  Cardinal. 

"  The  Prefect  left  for  Grosseto  the  day  before 
yesterday,  to  receive  the  Grand  Duchess  "  (of  Tus- 
cany, Elisa  Baciocchi,  Napoleon's  sister),  **  who  was 


PREPARING  TO  LEAVE  SIENA         183 

expected  here  in  a  few  days,  but  she  has  changed 
her  mind  and  is,  instead,  returning  to  Lucca  and 
Piombino  by  the  same  road  ;  it  is  said  that  this  is 
in  order  to  avoid  finding  herself  in  Tuscany  for  the 
execution  of  the  terrible  decree  of  conscription,  of 
which  you  will  certainly  have  read  in  the  '  Gazette.' 
In  Rome  this  Decree  produced  the  greatest  conster- 
nation, drafting  away  seven  hundred  out  of  eight 
hundred  young  men  in  the  First  Department  alone. 

"  In  order  to  make  sure  that  I  shall  have  news  of 
you  on  my  way,  you  might  begin  by  sending  me 
a  letter  to  Milan,  addressed  to  Sigra.  Marianna 
Baccani "  (this  was  Cunegonda's  maid),  "  Poste 
Restante ;  I  cannot  tell  you  about  other  cities.  I 
shall  certainly  find  something  from  you  at  Turin, 
but  meanwhile  send  me  yet  a  line  here  addressed  to 
Rosini.  .  .  ." 

The  Marchesa's  departure,  however,  was  yet 
further  delayed  by  the  non-appearance  of  the 
Vetturino,  the  trusty  Tommaso.  He  had  under- 
taken to  convey  some  travellers  to  Vienna,  and 
Cunegonda  entirely  refused  to  let  any  one  else 
conduct  her  over  this  part  of  her  journey  ;  so  she 
waited  on  in  Siena,  expecting  his  return  from  day 
to  day.  On  April  13  she  finds  time  to  discourse 
about  the  little  boy  left  at  home  with  his  grand- 
parents. 

"  You  are  quite  right  in  saying  that  Costantino 
is  very  fortunate  in  having  a  grandmother  who 
is   so   careful  and  so  loving,  and  I  confess  that  if 


i84  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

I  had  not  been  able  to  leave  him  in  such  safe  hands 
I  could  never  have  consented  to  the  separation  at 
all.  But  my  conviction  that  your  mother  and  father 
will  not  alter  in  any  way  the  system  already  adopted, 
sets  my  mind  at  rest,  although  I  am  so  far  from 
my  child.  You  will  have  received  by  this  time 
Costantino's  French  letter  on  the  subject  of  which 
he  reproached  me,  in  another  which  he  wrote, 
because  I  had  not  gratified  your  desire  to  peruse 
that  chef  d'osuvre !  I  replied  to  him  that  you 
had  asked  me  to  copy  out  the  most  beautiful  parts 
of  it  for  your  benefit,  but  that  I  was  embarrassed 
as  to  the  choice,  and,  in  order  not  to  defraud 
you  of  his  finest  efforts,  I  had  resolved  to  send  it 
on  to  you  entire. 

" ....  I  am  sorry  you  should  have  taken  so 
much  to  heart  what  I  said  about  my  headache.  .  .  . 
you  know  that  is  my  inseparable  companion,  and 
really  the  present  circumstances  are  not  exactly 
remedies  for  the  trouble,  but  God  gives  me  strength 
not  to  be  cast  down  by  it,  and  I  only  speak  of  it 
when  it  becomes  more  acute.  .  .  .  The  order  of 
sequestration  has  not  been  rescinded  in  Rome,  but 
we  have  good  hopes  "  (that  it  will  be)  *'  and  there  is 
an  order  exempting  the  tenants  at  Bracciano  from 
paying  the  quarterns  rent. 

"Siena,  April  I'c^ih,  1812. 

" .  .  .  .  The  four  sons  of  Oligiati  have  been 
ordered  to  leave  "  (for  France),  "  and  as  their  father 


CUNEGONDA  AND  HER  BOYS  185 

cannot  afford  the  expense  of  the  journey  the 
Government  will  pay  for  it.  Pippo  Lante,  who 
had  been  assured  that  he  might  stay  with  his 
mother  till  he  should  be  fifteen,  and  then  was  to 
enter  as  a  page,  has  now  been  ordered  to  La  Fleche 
to  remain  there  until  he  reaches  the  required  age. 
These  are  the  last  news  from  Rome.  The  Senator 
Orville  has  arrived  in  Rome  to  take  up  his  senator- 
ship,  which  brings  him  in  ninety  thousand  francs  a 
year  paid  out  of  the  revenues  of  the  Roman  States  ; 
but  the  office  confers  on  him  no  authority  whatever. 
He  is  staying  at  the  French  Embassy,  and  will  remain 
for  three  or  four  months.  .  .  ." 

In  another  letter  Cunegonda  says  :  "  I  have  read 
to  Pippo  the  extract  about  his  birthday  ;  may  God 
fulfil  your  and  my  desires  for  the  child,  desires 
which  only  point,  so  far  as  this  world  goes,  to  see 
my  sons  true  Christians ;  the  two  eldest  already 
begin  to  give  us  great  comfort,  being  most  ex- 
cellently inclined  ;  and  I  trust  the  third  will  not 
disappoint  our  hopes.  It  seems  to  me  that  I,  on 
my  part,  am  neglecting  no  means  of  having  him  turn 
out  as  we  desire  ;  may  the  Lord  cause  my  care  to 
bear  good  fruit ! 

"...  My  sister  Altieri  wrote  to  my  mother-in- 
law  that  the  Minister  had  told  her  very  distinctly 
that  there  is  no  hope  of  having  the  order  of  seques- 
tration removed  until  the  boys  shall  have  reached 
Paris.     Behold    how    many    good    things    I    am    to 


i86  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

obtain  in  that  place  !  First,  your  liberation  ;  second, 
the  removal  of  the  sequestration  ;  third,  that  which 
most  interests  us  "  (that  the  children  might  remain 
with  their  mother)  ;  "  fourth,  the  restoration  of 
my  father*s  property "  (confiscated  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution)  ;  "  and  so  forth  and  so  on.  The 
flattering  hopes  held  out  to  me  of  obtaining  all  these 
things  are  really  marvellous  !  It  appears  that  1 
shall  have  but  to  open  my  mouth  and  ask — and  all 
will  be  granted  !  Were  that  so  we  might  indeed 
talk  about  miracles  ! 

•'  Siena,  May  isf,  1812. 

**  King  Murat  came  through  here  quite  suddenly 
on  Tuesday.  I  think  I  told  you  that  he  was 
expected  some  days  ago.  At  least  he  dashed 
through,  at  full  gallop,  in  a  little  carriage  with 
eight  horses.  Everybody  is  talking — and  each  gives 
his  own  views  of  the  incident.  The  deputies  from 
Rome  chosen  to  go  and  thank  the  Emperor  (I  have 
no  idea  what  for)  have  been  ordered  to  leave  in 
twenty-four  hours,  as  His  Majesty  will  receive  them 
at  St.  Cloud  on  the  7th.  I  do  not  know  whether 
they  will  get  there  in  time. 

*'The  Mayor"  (of  Rome)  "and  his  Councillors  have 
resigned  because  Montbreton  "  (the  actual  Prefect) 
"  mixed  himself  up  in  business  which  was  purely  their 
concern.  He  refused  to  accept  their  resignations, 
and  it  was  hoped  things  could  be  arranged  amicably 
in  a  private  conference." 


THE  ARCHBISHOP  ZONDADARI        187 

Saverio  adds  a  postscript  to  his  mother's  letter  : 

"Dearest  Papa  mine,  We  began  to-day  with 
Mamma  the  month  of  Mary,  and  I  will  also  begin 
a  Novena  which  says  at  the  beginning,  '  A  prayer 
for  obtaining  any  kind  of  grace,'  and  I  want  to  see 
if  it  says  the  Holy  Truth.   ..." 

On  May  6,  Cunegonda,  still  detained  in  Siena  by 
the  non-arrival  of  Tommaso,  writes  to  her  husband : 
"  I  went  yesterday  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Cardinal " 
(Zondadari,  the  Archbishop  whom  Giovanni  had 
seen  for  a  moment  when  he  was  on  the  point  of 
leaving  Siena)  "  at  Murlo,  fourteen  miles  from  here. 
The  expedition  was  most  successful,  and  His 
Eminence,  to  whom  it  came  as  a  complete  surprise, 
was  delighted.  Casa  Chigi  was  also  there,  all  but 
the  Commendatore.  The  boys  enjoyed  the  outing 
immensely.  ...  I  wished  to  pay  this  visit  to  the 
Cardinal  to  show  him  my  gratitude  for  all  the 
kindness  he  has  extended  to  me  during  my  stay 
here.  .  .  » 

"  To-morrow  there  will  defile  into  Rome  the 
twelve  thousand  men  from  Naples  who  are  to  be 
passed  on  into  the  Grand  Army.  This  makes  the 
politicians  think  that,  as  was  reported,  Naples  is  to 
become  a  part  of  the  Empire,  and  that  Murat  will 
not  return  there." 

''MayiZth. 

"  I  was  arranging  to  leave  on  Tuesday  the  I2th 
so  as  to  reach  Florence  on  the  1 3th,  and  1  think 
of  doing  it  all  in  one  journey.  ...  I   was  finally 


l88  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

induced  to  start  by  a  message  which  the  Marchese 
Chigi  conveyed  to  me  from  the  Prefect "  (of  Siena), 
"  who  said  that  he  feared,  if  I  lingered  longer,  he 
might  get  some  stringent  orders  from  Paris,  and 
might  even  be  instructed  to  take  the  boys  away 
from  me.  You  see  that  prudence  required  that 
I  should  take  note  of  this  warning,  and  in  fact, 
a  few  days  after  receiving  it,  I  went  to  pay  him  my 
first  visit,  which  also  had  to  serve  as  farewell.  He 
is  a  good  old  man,  incapable  of  injuring  any  one, 
and  he  does  kindnesses  whenever  and  however  he 
can — as  was  proved  by  the  affair  of  the  sequestra- 
tion " — (it  seems  that  the  Prefect  had  made  an 
attempt  to  have  the  Patrizi  property  in  Siena 
exempted  from  that  order) — "  although  he  has  every 
right  to  be  rather  annoyed  with  me,  as  until  now 
I  have  never  given  him  a  sign  of  life  1  '* 

Saverio  adds : 

**  Dearest  Papa  mine, — 

"...  Too  clearly  1  see  that  we  must  leave 
this  amiable  town,  but  God's  will  be  done.  Who 
knows  ?  We  have  not  gone  yet ;  perhaps  the  mules 
will  break  their  legs,  or  something  else  happen. 
Well,  whatever  happens  will  be  for  our  good.  .  .  . 
So  be  it,  so  be  it,  verily  so  be  it." 

Cunegonda,  on  the  nth,  explains  that  she  is  still 
detained.  Tommaso  has  not  turned  up,  and  the 
mules,  which  apparently  were  out  at  grass  in  the 


WAITING  FOR  TOMMASO  189 

neighbouring   country,    have   not   been    sent   in   as 

she  expected,  so  a  few  days  more  must  pass  before 

she  can  get  off.     The  poor  lady  had  managed  to 

get  the  whooping-cough,  and  the  children  had  caught 

it  from  her.     "  But  now,"  she  says,  ''  we  have  all 

recovered,  so  do    not   be  anxious   about   us  ;    the 

journey   will  not   hurt  us.     Indeed,  I   am  a  little 

afraid  we  shall  feel  the  heat,  for  it  has  been  very 

oppressive  for  the  last  few  days,  and  in  the  mountains 

near  Bologna  we  shall  get  the  full  force  of  the  sun. 

Patience  !     First  I  was  afraid  of  the  cold,  now  of 

the  heat ;  and  when  I  left  Rome  that  was  the  last 

thing  from  which  I  expected  to  suffer  in  this  journey. 

Who  knows  ?     '  The  hand  of  God  is  not  shortened  * ; 

and  I  did  not  put  that  in  Latin,  for  fear  you  would 

make  fun  of  me. 

"...  To-morrow  I  must  write  to  Rome  to  let 

them  know  of  this  last  delay,  and   I  am  sorry  to 

have  to  do  so,  as  they  are  anxious  to  know  that  I 

have  started,  fearing  always  some  new  hostility  ;  but 

to  you  I  give  the  news  with  pleasure,  knowing  that 

you  will  be  glad,  although  you  are  the  person  most 

interested/' 

"Siena,  May  20. 

"  We  have  decided  to  leave,  certainly,  on  the 
27th.  .  .  .  Great  numbers  of  troops  are  passing 
here.  Of  the  twelve  thousand  ordered  from  Naples, 
twelve  hundred  came  through  the  day  before  yester- 
day, and  the  same  number  is  expected  to-day.  They 
come  every  other  day  ;  but  I  am  told  that,  instead 


190  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

of  fresh  men,  it  is  the  same  column  that  has  already 
passed,  which  we  shall  see  to-day  going  the  other 
way,  a  galloper  having  been  sent  to  tell  them  to 
turn  round  and  get  back  to  Naples.  I  cannot  even 
imagine  the  reasons  for  all  this,  but  it  is  accepted 
as  certain.     To-day  we  shall  find  out  the  truth." 

"May  25. 

"  Our  departure  is  still  fixed  for  the  day  after 
to-morrow,  but  I  must  write  you  a  few  lines. 

*' .  .  .  The  passage  of  the  troops  still  continues  .  .  . 
only  the  first  detachment  was  ordered  back  to  Naples. 
The  rest  continue  to  come,  about  two  thousand 
every  two  days,  and  the  men  parade  in  the  Piazza, 
making  really  a  very  fine  spectacle.  But  at  night 
it  is  dreadful.  There  is  no  possibility  of  sleep  ; 
they  begin  beating  the  drums  at  one  or  half-past 
to  call  the  soldiers  together  again  in  the  Piazza, 
and  they  do  not  get  away  until  ^vq.  Imagine  how 
pleasant  for  us  !  Yesterday  there  were  many  negroes 
among  them,  and  they  look  hideous  in  uniform. 
This  business  is  to  go  on  until  the  5th  of  June." 

The  long-delayed  and  dreaded  departure  from 
Siena  took  place  according  to  schedule,  Saverio*s 
prayers  and  his  hopes  of  a  happy  accident  remaining 
unfulfilled  for  the  moment.  On  June  i  Cunegonda 
writes  to  her  husband,  in  deep  depression,  from 
Bologna : 

"...  At  last,  to  my  intense  regret,  I  must  change 


CUNEGONDA  LEAVES  SIENA  191 

the  heading  of  my  letters.  You  can  imagine  how 
I  grieved  at  leaving  Siena,  where  for  five  months 
I  enjoyed  a  tranquillity  that  must  be  discounted 
now.  Before  I  left  I  received  your  letter  of  the 
nth"  (of  April),  "and  I  was  amazed  to  find  that 
I  had  told  you  I  felt  more  full  of  strength  and 
courage  than  usual.  It  must  have  been  true  at  the 
moment,  but  the  scene  changed  afterwards,  and  I 
cannot  possibly  describe  to  you  the  trouble,  the 
sorrow,  the  apprehensions,  and  so  forth,  by  which 
I  am  surrounded  now.  I  have  suffered  in  these 
days  all  that  it  is  possible  to  suffer  physically  and 
morally  ;  the  burden  of  this  journey  makes  itself 
felt  more  and  more.  ... 

"  You  tell  me  to  write  in  French  if  that  is  easier 
for  me,  but  1  assure  you  that  I  write  quite  as  easily 
in  Italian.  Perhaps  I  make  absurd  mistakes,  but 
you  will  be  indulgent  about  them." 

After  this  protest,  Cunegonda  suddenly  begins 
a  sentence  in  French,  the  language  of  her  childhood — 
and  always  of  her  heart — pulls  herself  up  and  goes 
on  in  sober  Italian  to  describe  the  first  stage  of 
her  journey,  a  long  one,  for  the  party  left  Siena  at 
a  quarter  to  seven  in  the  morning  and  did  not 
reach  Florence  till  ten  that  night. 

*'  There,"  she  says,  "  we  stayed  over  Thursday, 
the  Feast  of  Corpus  Domini  .  .  .  and  I  had  a  visit 
from  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Palestrina  and 
their  sons,  as  well  as  Don  Orazio  Borghese. 

**  On     arriving    in    Florence    we    went    to    the 


192  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

*  Pelicano/  which  I  think  was  the  inn  you  spoke 
of  to  me;  but  it  was  quite  full,  so  I  went  to  the 
'  Four  Nations,*  where  I  was  very  well  satisfied,  and 
where  even  the  hotel-keepers  showed  the  interest 
they  felt  for  us,  assuring  me,  with  tears  in  their 
eyes,  that  they  would  certainly  not  take  advantage 
of  my  circumstances  ;  and  indeed  they  charged  me 
much  less  than  they  are  accustomed  to  do. 

'* .  .  .  The  next  morning  we  started  off  again, 
halted  at  *  Le  Maschere,'  and  slept  at  beautiful 
Covigliano.  ...  On  Saturday  at  nightfall  we  reached 
this  place.  Immediately  Benedetto  and  Clementino 
Spada  came  to  see  me,  having  come  expressly  from 
twelve  miles  away  in  the  country,  where  Clementino 
is  in  villeggiatura  with  his  wife  ;  I  shall  see  the 
villa  when  I  pass." 

Bologna  was  full  of  friends  and  relations  who 
vied  with  each  other  in  showing  their  affection  and 
sympathy  for  the  travellers  in  this  time  of  trouble. 
Clementino  Spada  insisted  on  having  the  whole 
party  stay  at  his  house  in  the  town,  and  poor 
Cunegonda  was  already  so  worn  out  that  she 
decided  to  rest  there  for  a  few  days  before  going 
farther.  The  physical  repose,  however,  seems  to 
have  in  no  way  lightened  the  heavy  weight  that 
lay  at  her  heart ;  on  June   1 1   she  writes  : 

"  What  I  have  become,  Giovanni  mine  !  I  can 
truly  say  that  I  am  a  reed  shaken  in  the  wind, 
for  every  moment  some  new  fear  takes  possession 
of  me  ;  the  only  thing  that  consoles  and  reassures 


THE  FATIGUE  OF  TRAVEL  193 

me  a  little  is  that  when  I  am  most  troubled  is 
the  time  when  I  turn  with  most  faith  to  prayer. 

*' .  .  .  Yesterday  the  ex-Court  of  Spain  *  arrived 
here  and  was  to  go  on  to-day.  They  have  to  move 
in  instalments,  as  they  require  sixty-nine  horses, 
and  could  never  find  them  if  the  whole  company 
travelled  together  !  " 

The  next  little  note  is  written  somewhere  between 
Modena  and  Saliceta,  on  June  17.  The  heat  was 
becoming  overwhelming. 

*'  I  cannot  describe  to  you/'  Cunegonda  says, 
"  what  I  am  suffering  from  heat  and  the  fatigue 
of  the  journey.  ...  I  have  to  stop  constantly  to 
rest.  1  propose  to  do  so  in  Milan,  and  I  am  sure 
you  will  approve.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
I  have  not  strength  to  do  anything  else.  Oh,  if 
I  knew  how  to  accept  all  this,  how  much  of  my 
purgatory  could  I  be  sparing  myself !  " 

*  Charles  IV  of  Spain  travelling  to  Rome  with  his  Court.     He 
remained  there  for  some  time. 


13 


CHAPTER  IX 

Milan  was  reached  on  June  20,  and  the  next  day 
the  Marchesa  wrote  to  her  husband : 

"  I  left  Modena,  or  rather  Saliceta,  on  Thursday. 
The  Marchisios,  husband  and  wife  "  (friends  with 
whom  she  had  stayed  near  Modena), ''  did  everything 
they  could  to  show  their  cordial  affection.  On 
Friday  we  dined  at  Piacenza  and  slept  at  Lodi, 
and  yesterday  morning  at  half-past  ten  we  arrived 
here.  I  am  lodging  at  the  Hotel  Imperial,  an 
excellent  inn  in  a  quiet  situation,  where  I  found 
both  the  Bailli  Ruspoli  and  Cardinal  Albani.  .  .  . 
Monsignor  Odescalchi  and  Count  Francesco  Scotti 
came  to  see  me  and  send  you  many  greetings. 

"I  forgot  to  tell  you  in  my  last  letter  that  at 
Bologna  I  had  to  part  with  Tommaso  and  take 
to  the  post.  His  demands  became  so  outrageous 
that  I  could  not  consent  to  them.  I  am  quite 
satisfied  with  the  new  arrangement,  as  the  roads 
as  far  as  Turin  are  splendid ;  at  Turin  I  must 
consider  again  what  I  had  better  do. 

"...  I  should    be  telling  you  an  untruth  if  I 

were  to  say  that  my  health  is  good,  and  you  would 

perhaps  not  believe  it  ;  may  the  Lord  help  me  to 

194 


in  2< 

"^  2o 

-J  — -g 

<  : 


o  <» 


5q- 


^s 


CUNEGONDA  AT   MILAN  195 

bear  the  fatigues  and  mental  sufferings  I  sustain, 
and  I  hope  He  will  accept  them  in  place  of  that 
which  we  fear,  a  hope  that  inspires  me  to  bear 
them  willingly.  ...  I  cannot  say  when  I  shall 
leave  Milan.  .  .  .  Unless  I  rest  now,  there  will  be 
nothing  to  send  to  Paris  except  my  bones !  " 

"/««(?225th,  1812. 

''I  am  pleased  to  hear  that  you  are  occupying 
yourself  in  studying  Spanish.  I  held  up  your 
example  to  Pippo,  showing  him  how  happy  are 
those  who  love  to  be  occupied,  and  how  bad  idleness 
is  for  the  soul  and  the  body.  Why  do  you  doubt 
that  I  shall  obtain  the  happiness  of  seeing  you 
again  ?  I,  on  my  part,  promise  it  to  myself ;  and 
of  how  many  things  we  shall  have  to  tell  one 
another !  You  say  that  you  wish  me  to  be  cheerful. 
...  This  I  cannot  promise  ;  one  thing  alone  can 
restore  cheerfulness  to  me,  and  you  know  what 
that  is  ;  I  shall  rejoice  to  see  you  in  good  health, 
and  for  that  I  am  thanking  God  now — that,  to  so 
many  sorrows,  is  not  added  the  one  of  knowing 
you  to  be  suffering  physically.  I  hope  you  will 
experience  the  same  about  the  boys ;  the  quiet 
life  and  the  good  air  of  Siena  caused  them  to 
flourish  again  (after  their  slight  illness)  in  a  way 
that  amazed  me.  .  .  .  Like  you,  the  benedictions 
I  ask  for  our  children  are  all  celestial  ones,  for  I 
cannot  bring  myself  to  ask  for  them  the  goods  of 
this  world." 


196  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

The  Marchesa  was  at  this  time  ardently  nourishing 
the  hope  that  she  would  be  permitted  to  visit  her 
husband  in  prison  on  her  way  north  from  Turin, 
a  hope  which  he,  sadly  wise,  dared  not  entertain. 
On  June  28  Cunegonda  apprises  him  of  the  coming 
of  some  new  comrades  in  misfortune  to  Fenestrelle. 

**  I  hear  that  the  brigade  in  your  hermitage  is 
very  soon  to  be  increased.  This  morning  I  was 
given  the  names  of  the  Abb6s  Guidi  and  Caprani, 
both  of  the  Roman  College ;  and  there  may  be 
others  coming  to  you.  I  had  been  told  the 
two  Canons  Fratini  were  condemned  to  Corsica, 
but  there  are  already  so  many  prisoners  in  that 
island  .  .  .  that  Corsica  can  maintain  no  more." 

At  last  Cunegonda  accomplished  the  journey,  to 
Turin,  where  she  hoped  to  obtain  permission  for 
her  visit  to  Giovanni.     On  July  6  she  writes  : 

"  I  got  here  on  Thursday  evening,  and  am 
stopping  at  this  inn  of  '  The  Red  Bull.'  The 
journey  from  Milan  was  quite  a  fortunate  one, 
thank  God  ;  the  heat  was  not  oppressive,  and  here 
it  is  almost  cold.  .  .  .  You  exhort  me  to  be 
courageous,  and  I  will  try  to  obey  you,  knowing 
what  great  need  I  have  of  courage  even  to  keep 
up  physically,  for  I  have  periods  of  such  exhaustion, 
not  only  of  spirit,  but  of  body,  that,  were  they 
to  last  any  time,  I  should  succumb  completely, 
and  those  are  not  moments  when  moral  reflections 
are  of  any  assistance.  There  is  nothing  to  do  but 
wait  till  the  paroxysm   has   passed  ;   but  I  do  not 


AT  TURIN  197 

wish  you  to  be  troubled  about  this.  God,  who  has 
helped  me  so  far,  will  certainly  continue  to  help 
me  ;  only  ask  Him  to  give  me  all  the  faith  I  ought 
to  have  in  His  goodness." 

"  Here  I  shall  be  obliged  to  go  out  more 
than  I  did  in  Milan,  for  we  have  an  apartment 
so  small  and  restricted  that  I  cannot  turn  round 
in  my  room,  which  is  also  the  family  sitting-room, 
dining-room,  study,  and  so  forth.  Luckily  for 
me,  the  weather  is  not  warm.  We  often  say  that 
we  should  be  profoundly  grateful  if  you  would 
engage  an  apartment  in  your  cloister  for  me  and 
my  whole  party." 

As  soon  as  she  reached  Turin  Cunegonda  began 
to  make  every  effort  to  obtain  permission  for  her- 
self and  the  boys  to  visit  Giovanni  at  Fenestrelle. 
On  July  8,  by  the  hands  of  the  Marchesc 
d'  Azeglio,  she  sent  her  husband  a  long  letter 
describing  her  many  futile  errands  and  expeditions, 
for,  as  she  said,  "  They  send  me  from  Herod 
to  Pilate "  (still  the  Italian  synonym  for  our 
phrase  '  From  pillar  to  post ').  The  Commandant 
of  Fenestrelle,  who  happened  to  be  in  Turin  at 
the  moment,  received  her  courteously,  listened 
with  gratification  to  the  warm  thanks  she  offered 
him  for  his  many  kindnesses  to  the  beloved 
prisoner,  but  told  her  that  it  was  not  in  his 
power  to  grant  her  permission  to  visit  her  husband 
in  the  fort.  The  Director-General  of  Police, 
Danzer,    only    went    so    far    as    to    advise    her    to 


198  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

apply  to  Don  Camillo  Borghese,  the  Governor  of 
Turin ;  and  she  tells  Giovanni  that  she  has  tried 
this  last  resort,  and  is  awaiting  the  answer  with 
feverish  impatience. 

Here  is  her  letter  to  Don  Camillo — and  how 
bitterly  it  must  have  gone  against  her  proud 
heart  to  have  to  write  it  ! — 

"  MONSEIGNEUR, 

"  After  being  separated  for  more  than 
seven  months  from  my  husband,  and  finding 
myself  now  so  near  him,  I  have  taken  all  the 
steps  which  appeared  necessary  to  obtain  the 
ardently  desired  permission  to  see  and  embrace 
him  for  a  moment  before  continuing  my  journey 
to  Paris  ;  but,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  I  have 
encountered  many  obstacles,  and  am  told  that 
without  the  express  permission  of  Your  Imperial 
Highness "  (to  such  rank  had  a  Borghese  at- 
tained by  becoming  the  Emperor's  brother-in- 
law  !)  "it  is  impossible  that  my  request  should 
be  granted. 

"  I  therefore  venture  to  address  Your  Highness 
directly  to  implore  you  not  to  refuse  me  the 
favour  that,  after  such  a  long  separation,  I  and 
my  children  may  have  the  joy  of  seeing  and 
embracing  a  tenderly  loved  husband  and  father. 
Your  Imperial  Highness's  good  heart  and  humane 
feeling  will,  I  am  sure,  induce  you  to  give  the 
favourable  reply  which   we    await  and  desire  with 


DON  CAMILLO   BORGHESE  199 

the  most  eager   impatience.      I   am,  Monseigneur, 
with  the  most  profound  respect, 
"Etc.,  etc., 

"  CUNEGONDA    OF    SaXONY    PaTRIZI." 

His  Imperial  Highness,  Don  Camillo  Borghese, 
had  not  the  least  idea  of  offending  his  all-powerful 
brother-in-law  by  acceding  to  the  poor  wife's  re- 
quest. To  favour  a  Patrizi  would  have  been  to  incur 
Napoleon*s  certain  displeasure,  and  Cunegonda's 
heart-broken  entreaty  received  this  curt  answer  : 

"  Madame, 

*'  I  will  not  lose  a  moment  in  answering  the 
letter  which  you  took  the  trouble  to  write  me 
to-day  ;  I  should  do  so  with  much  more  pleasure 
if  1  could  grant  what  you  ask.  I  advise  you  to 
get  to  Paris  as  quickly  as  you  can  and  there  ask 
permission  from  the  Minister  of  Police  to  visit 
your  husband  on  your  return  journey.  I  do  not 
imagine  that  you  will  then  have  any  difficulty. 

*'  Pray  accept  the  assurance  of  my  esteem  and 
high  consideration. 

"  Camillo." 

This  letter  was  a  double-edged  sword  to  Cune- 
gonda's hopes  ;  not  only  was  she  forbidden  to  see 
her  husband,  but  it  showed  that  the  enforced  sacrifice 
of  the  children  would  not,  as  she  had  hitherto 
believed,  procure  their  father's  liberation.  She  broke 
down  completely  under  the  disappointment,  and  had 


200  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

to  stay  several  days  in  Turin  before  she  could  find 
strength  to  resume  her  journey. 

Meanwhile,  at  Fenestrelle,  her  husband  was  the 
victim  of  similarly  deluded  hopes.  "  On  the  9th  of 
July,"  he  writes  in  his  journal,  "  by  some  extra- 
ordinary and  incomprehensible  combinations,  my 
hopes  '* — of  seeing  his  family — **  suddenly  became 
almost  certainties.  I  was  shut  up  in  my  room 
towards  four  in  the  afternoon  when  there  came  a 
knocking  at  the  door.  I  opened  it  to  find  some  of 
my  companions  in  captivity,  one  of  whom  declared 
to  me,  on  the  assertions  of  two  others,  that  my  wife 
was  just  about  to  arrive  at  the  fort.  Those  others 
told  me  that,  with  the  aid  of  a  small  opera-glass,  they 
had  discerned  on  the  road  leading  hither  a  tall,  well- 
dressed  woman  with  two  boys,  accompanied  by  other 
persons,  one  of  whom  looked  like  a  servant,  as  he 
kept  some  paces  behind  ;  the  party  were  on  foot, 
and  kept  constantly  turning  to  look  at  the  fort.  My 
friends  reminded  me  that  the  road  was  new,  and  still 
unfinished,  which  would  explain  why  the  strangers 
had  had  to  leave  their  carriage  and  approach  on  foot. 

"All  these  details  made  the  thing  appear  so  probable 
that  they  blinded  me  for  the  moment  to  its  greater 
improbability.  I  flew  down  to  the  lower  bastions  to 
look  closer  at  the  road  which  skirts  the  Mosino  fort, 
and  on  which  I  was  told  the  travellers  must  very 
shortly  appear.  I  saw  indeed  some  persons  moving 
on  the  road,  but  at  that  distance  could  not  make  out 
whether  they  were  men  or  women,  big  or  small,  and 


PATRIZrS  DISAPPOINTMENT  201 

all  the  time  heart  was  beating  wildly,  I  thinking  they 
might  be  those  tenderly  loved  beings  !  .  .  .  Alas, 
they  were  only  gendarmes,  as  some  who  had  seen 
them  more  clearly  than  I  explained  to  me.  .  .  .  Oh  1 
the  terrible  disappointment !  I  stayed  there,  gazing 
out  for  a  little  while  ;  then,  when  no  one  appeared,  I 
realised  that  the  kindness  of  my  friends,  and  their 
desire  that  I  should  have  this  consolation,  had  com- 
pletely misled  them. 

"  I  did  not,  however,  lose  all  hope  of  that  dear 
visit  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  expected  it  hourly  until  the 
arrival  here,  on  the  loth,  of  the  good  Marchese 
Taparelli  d'  Azeglio  of  Turin,  who  had  come  here 
to  visit  two  friends  of  his  and  fellow-prisoners  of 
mine,  Mancini  and  Berrera,  Canons  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Florence.  Then  all  my  hopes  were  dashed,  for 
the  said  Marchese,  while  bringing  me  the  last  news  as 
well  as  the  letters  of  my  most  beloved  wife,  of  my 
dearest  children,  and  of  that  incomparable  friend, 
Giustiniani,  told  me  that,  in  spite  of  every  effort,  of 
every  possible  means  employed  both  with  the  police 
of  Turin  and  the  Governor  (Borghese),  my  wife  had 
been  unable  to  procure  the  desired  permission. 

"  I  cannot  deny  that  this  was  a  blow  which  I  felt 
very  deeply,  but  I  adored  the  dispensations  of  our 
good  God,  who  had  refused  me  the  consolation  in 
order  to  spare  me  the  pain  of  the  parting  which  must 
have  followed  it,  and  which  would  indeed  have  been 
greater  than  the  consolation  itself. 

"  The  never  sufficiently  to  be  praised  Marchese 


202  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

d'Azcglio,  a  man  estimable  in  every  way,  but  most 
singularly  so  for  his  intrepid  religious  spirit,  shortened 
his  visit  here  and  renounced  the  pleasure  of  being 
with  his  friends  in  order  to  hasten  back  to  Turin 
and  give  my  wife  all  the  news  about  me,  and  the 
letters  I  entrusted  him  with,  before  her  departure, 
which  finally  took  place  on  the  15th  of  July." 

On  the  9th,  after  receiving  Camillo  Borghese's 
refusal  of  her  request,  Cunegonda  had  written  :  ''  I 
am  only  forty-five  miles  from  you,  and  I  must  go  on 
without  seeing  you  !  I  never  expected  this  I  Good- 
bye, my  dear  Giovanni — until  now  every  step  brought 
me  nearer  to  you  ;  henceforth  each  one  will  take  me 
further  away.  Lord,  give  me  strength,  courage, 
constancy,  and  patience  !  " 

On  the  1 9th  she  wrote  from  Chamb^ry  : 
**  I  was  hoping  to  find  a  letter  from  you  here  ;  but, 
so  far,  it  has  not  come.  You  will  have  heard  of  my 
departure  ;  what  I  felt  at  coming  away  without 
seeing  you  God  only  knows.  All  through  Wednes- 
day I  kept  gazing  at  the  mountains  until  we  reached 
Susa,  hoping  to  distinguish  the  spot  you  inhabit, 
although  I  was  told  that  one  could  not  see  it  from 
the  road.  But  I  seemed  to  remember  that,  when 
I  came  to  Italy,  some  one  had  pointed  it  out  to 
me  from  a  distance.  At  Susa  I  learnt  that  I  was 
only  five  miles  away  from  you  1  Oh,  how  gladly 
would  I  have  gone  over  them — but  to  what  pur- 
pose ?  The  best  thing  is  to  be  resigned,  and  to 
hope  that  God  has  only  deprived  me  of  this   one 


SUSA.    THE    ANCIENT    GATEWAY. 

Photo  Alinari,  Rome. 


FROM  TURIN  TO  CHAMBERY  203 

consolation  in  order  to  give  me  many  others  all 
together.  The  journey  from  Turin  here  was,  thank 
God,  very  fortunate.  The  first  day,  Wednesday, 
we  slept  at  Susa  ;  on  Thursday  we  travelled  over 
the  Mont  Cenis,  in  such  cold  that,  as  soon  as  we 
reached  the  Grand  Cross  which  stands  at  the  summit 
of  the  Pass,  I  had  a  great  fire  made,  as  we  were 
all  frozen.  After  dinner  I  went  on  foot  to  the 
Hospice  of  the  Cistercians,  and  there  the  good 
Fathers  wanted  me  to  stay  the  night,  which  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  do,  for  the  apartment  they 
offered  me  was  so  elegant  that  one  could  find 
nothing  better  in  Paris.  I  saw  the  room  where  the 
Holy  Father  lately  spent  three  or  four  days,  and 
where  they  feared  he  would  expire  ;  but,  thank 
God,  his  health  improved  during  the  hurried 
journey,  and  the  surgeon  of  the  monks,  who  ac- 
companied him  as  far  as  Fontainebleau,  has  already 
returned,  having  left  him  quite  well.  When  I  had 
seen  all,  and  heard  all,  I  had  a  cup  of  coffee  and 
took  the  road  to  Lans-le-Bourg,  where  I  slept  that 
night.  On  Friday  we  got  to  St.  Jean  de  Maurienne, 
and  yesterday,  after  a  long  and  tiring  day,  we  reached 
this  place,  where  I  shall  rest  and  wait  for  the  answer 
from  my  sister "  (Princess  Altieri,  in  Paris)  ''  to 
the  petition  which  I  have  asked  her  to  get  strongly 
supported  for  me — with  what  result  we  shall  see.  I 
imagine  it  will  have  the  same  fate  as  all  my  former 
ones." 

Here  we  must  insert  an  extract  from  little  Filippo's 


204  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

faithful  journal  of  his  travels,  which,  as  the  compiler 
of  the  Memoirs  remarks,  is  not  without  interest 
for  his  descendants,  who  to-day  cross  the  Alps  in 
automobiles,  and  to-morrow  may  be  flying  over  them 
in  aeroplanes  ! 

"  From  Susa  to  Lans-le-Bourg  : 

"  This  morning,  July  1 6,  we  left  Susa  at  about 
six  o'clock,  and  as  soon  as  we  were  out  of  Susa 
began  the  ascent  of  Mont  Cenis,  one  of  the  highest 
mountains  in  the  Alps.  Three  years  ago  people 
passed  over  it  in  winter  on  sledges,  and  in  summer 
on  horseback  or  in  sedan-chairs,  on  account  of  the 
very  bad  and  very  steep  road  there  was  ;  but  now 
one  can  go  most  comfortably  in  the  carriage  over  the 
new  road  just  finished,  which  is  really  beautiful  and 
broad.  .  .  .  On  this  mountain  there  are  twenty-six 
little  houses  where  people  live  to  help  travellers  in 
case  of  necessity  ;  these  houses  are  at  small  distances 
from  one  another.  In  one  place  on  this  mountain, 
as  rocks  often  fall  on  the  road,  they  pierced  a  tunnel 
through  the  rocks,  so  that  one  passes  very  well.  .  .  . 
The  road  is  not  very  steep.  At  half-past  four  we 
reached  the  Great  Cross,  an  inn  on  the  top  of  Mont 
Cenis,  and  so  named  because,  when  in  the  winter  the 
road  is  all  covered  with  snow,  there  is  danger  that 
people  will  fall  over  the  precipice,  and  so  there  are 
crosses  to  let  them  know  the  way,  even  when  it  is 
all  under  the  snow  ;  and  the  biggest  of  these  crosses 
is  at  this  inn,  and  it  is  the  first,  and  the  others  follow 
all  the  way  down  to  Ramace. 


PIPPO'S  DIARY  205 

**  A  little  while  after  leaving  the  inn  one  begins 
to  go  down  the  mountain,  and  there  is  an  inn 
called  the  *  Ram  ace  '  " — a  zig-zag  path — "  because 
when  people  came  by  the  old  track  on  sledges  it 
was  here  that  the  mule  which  had  pulled  the 
stranger  from  the  Novalese  so  far,  was  left,  and 
then  they  did  the  rest  of  the  way  with  the  sledge 
sliding  down  over  the  ice." 

One  sees  from  Pippo*s  careful  account  how  it 
all  must  have  impressed  the  Roman  children,  to 
whom  ice  and  snow  had  been  so  far  mere  geo- 
graphical fairy  tales  ! 

The  Marchesa  remained  at  Chambery  until 
August  5,  waiting  in  vain  for  letters  from  Paris, 
and  much  incensed  at  the  outrageous  delays  imposed 
on  those  which  her  husband  sent  from  Fenestrelle. 
On  July  24  she  had  written  : 

"  I  received  your  two  letters  dated  the  loth  and 
15th,  and  this  morning  the  one  of  the  17th  ;  the 
two  first  were  folded  one  within  the  other  "  (this 
was  before  the  days  of  envelopes),  **  and  the  inside 
one  was  addressed  to  me  in  Turin,  the  other  to 
Chambery,  which  made  it  quite  clear  that  they  had 
been  opened  and  read.  I  cannot  understand  how, 
after  seven  months,  these  gentlemen  of  the  police 
can  still  find  amusement  in  this  useless  reading  of 
our  letters,  of  which  they  have  not  yet  tired  ! 
They  ought  to  know  them  fairly  by  heart  by  this 
time,  for  almost  the  same  things  are  said  in  them 
all.     You  see  that  even  yours  of  the  17th  has  been 


206  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

long  kept  back,  for  it  seems  impossible  that  it 
should  have  taken  seven  days  to  reach  here  from 
Fenestrelle.  ...  I  see  you  have  had  all  the 
accounts  of  our  journey  to  Chamb^ry,  where  be 
sure  I  am  leading  a  life  more  solitary  than  yours 
over  there.  I  do  not  know  a  single  soul.  In  the 
morning,  at  six,  I  go  to  church  with  the  Cavaliere  " 
— Don  Lorenzo — "then  we  return,  and  have  breakfast 
at  half-past  eight.  At  nine  the  boys  sit  down  to 
their  lessons,  and  at  eleven  we  go  out  to  Mass, 
and  after  that  we  take  a  walk.  .  .  .  Dinner  is  at 
two,  and  after  that  the  Cavaliere  has  his  nap.  At 
five  the  boys  study  again  ;  and  after  six  we  all  say 
the  Rosary  together,  and  then  comes  another  walk. 
For  the  most  part  I  let  the  Cavaliere  take  the  boys, 
and  I  stay  quietly  at  home.  They  come  back  after 
eight,  supper  is  at  nine,  and  by  half-past  ten  we 
are  all  in  bed.  The  life  is  much  the  same  as  we 
have  led  ever  since  we  left  Rome.  Good-bye,  my 
Giovanni.     Courage  !  " 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Marchese  Patrizi  was  badly  versed  in  the 
ways  of  duplicity  and  intrigue.  While  his  wife 
was  still  hoping  to  obtain  his  immediate 'liberation, 
a  letter  which  he  had  written  to  her  in  May,  openly 
mentioning  the  names  of  friends  who  facilitated  the 
correspondence,  had  found  its  way  into  the  Em- 
peror's hands,  and  had  roused  him  to  such  wrath 
that  he  resolved  to  make  Giovanni's  punishment 
more  severe  than  ever.  It  had  been  forwarded  to 
Paris  in  a  French  translation  with  this  information 
on  the  margin  :  ''  This  letter,  written  in  Italian, 
was  enclosed  in  one  addressed  to  M.  Le  Comte 
Francois  Scotti  at  Milan,  which  was  itself  put  into 
the  post  at  Pignerolle." 

*^  The  Marquis  Jean  Patrizi  to  Madame  his  wife 

in  Milan. 

"  Fenestrelle,  May  21,  1812. 

**  After  having  sent  you  a  very  long  letter  yester- 
day by  the  ordinary  way  ...  I  now  address  this 
one  by  the  surer  means  which  you  requested,  by 
the  good  Count  Scotti. 

"  My  object  this  time  is  to  make  some  observa- 
207 


2o8  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

tions  about  the  renewed  supplications  which  you  pro- 
pose, while  in  Milan,  to  make  through  your  sister." 
(The  translator  here  explains,  for  the  Emperor's  benefit, 
that  these  referred  to  the  Marchesa  Patrizi's  hope 
that  her  husband  would  be  set  at  liberty  in  order 
to  accompany  her  and  the  children  for  the  remainder 
of  the  journey  to  Paris.)  **  In  the  first  place,  I 
wish  that  such  requests  should  be  made  solely  in 
your  name,  for  1  would  fear  that,  if  mine  were 
appended  to  them,  it  might  be  supposed  that  I  am 
tired  of  my  present  position  ;  the  God  Who  com- 
mands us  to  be  humble  forbids  us  to  degrade 
ourselves,  and  a  base  action  now  would  injure  the 
cause  for  which  1  have  thought  it  my  duty  to 
affrpnt  any  and  every  vicissitude.  Therefore,  if 
you  are  really  resolved  to  take  this  step,  let  it 
be  absolutely  in  your  own  name  ;  you  could  even 
tell  your  sister  that  you  are  only  induced  to  do  so 
in  order  to  have  the  pleasure  of  my  companion- 
ship on  the  journey,  and  not  because  you  imagine 
/  wish  to  come  out  of  prison  to  travel  on  my  own 
account.  You  can  tell  her  this  in  all  good  faith, 
for  to  tell  the  truth  I  do  not  in  the  least  wish  to 
see  Paris,  and  would  never  have  thought  of  pro- 
posing such  a  thing,  except  for  the  sake  of  sharing 
with  you  the  many  tribulations  which  you  must 
doubtless  encounter.  Make  your  sister  clearly 
understand  that  I  do  not  propose  to  buy  this  favour 
by  any  yielding  whatever  (on  the  point  of  the 
removal  of  the  children),  and  suggest,  if  that  ques- 


AN   INTERCEPTED   LETTER  209 

tion  is  put  to  her,  to  reply  that  you  have  not 
authorised  her  to  accept  any  conditions,  but  merely 
to  present  the  request.  The  conditions  in  question 
might  be  that  you  were  to  say  precisely  on  what 
day  you  would  be  in  Paris,  that  you  would  present 
the  children  (at  La  Fl^che),  and  other  things  of 
the  kind  which  must  not  be  promised,  for  all  sorts 
of  good  reasons.  I  foresee,  in  any  case,  that  nothing 
will  be  obtained,  given  the  absence  of  the  Emperor, 
and  if  you  are  also  convinced  of  its  uselessness  do 
not  take  the  step  at  all.  Do  not  think  that  because 
I  write  you  all  this  now,  I  regret  having  suggested 
the  idea.  ...  I  was  only  wishing  to  do  what  would 
be  most  agreeable  to  you.  Consult  with  your 
good  friend,  whom  I  greet  affectionately,  for  I  am 
ready  to  do  whatever  you  and  he  think  right,  even 
as  a  child  submits  to  his  father  and  mother. 

"As  the  result  of  something  that  has  happened 
in  this  place  our  walks  "  (about  the  fort)  **  have  been 
much  restricted  for  the  last  few  days,  and  are  now 
confined  entirely  to  the  courtyard.  Nothing  remains 
but  to  forbid  us  to  go  out  of  doors  at  all.  But 
I  must  say  that  our  good  Commandant  does  not 
do  all  this  from  unkindness  or  caprice  ;  and  I 
think  he  takes  it  more  to  heart  than  we  do,  for, 
personally,  I  am  utterly  indifferent." 

The  letter  is  taken  up  again  the  next  day  : 
**  I    have    had    a   letter    from    my    father,   which 
caused    me   the   greatest    pleasure    in    every    way. 
H 


210  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

They  say  here  that  the  Roman  priests  who  are  at 
PigneroUe  are  going  to  be  summoned  once  more 
to  take  the  oath,  and  they  are  threatened,  if  they 
refuse,  with  confiscation  of  all  their  goods  and 
exile  beyond  the  confines  of  the  Empire.  I  fear 
this  measure  will  be  extended  to  those  in  other 
places. 

''  The  *  Lamb  *  "  (a  note  on  the  margin  explains 
to  the  French  authorities  that  this  is  the  name 
by  which  Cardinal  Pacca  was  always  designated  in 
the  correspondence  of  the  various  prisoners)  "  and 
all  the  others  here  send  you  many  greetings." 

On  a  scrap  enclosed  and  marked  *  Post  Scriptum,' 
Giovanni  writes  : 

"  I  forgot  to  tell  you  not  to  mention  this  letter 
when  writing.  .  .  .  To  let  me  know  you  have 
received  it  merely  say,  '  Count  Francesco  Scotti 
salutes  you.'  " 

On  the  margin  is  another  note  of  the  translator- 
censor.  *'  In  writing  to  M.  Scotti  (enclosing  the 
above)  M.  Patrizi  says,  *  Please  do  not  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  this,  as  it  has  not  passed  by  the 
ordinary  channels,  and  I  should  be  sorry  to  have 
it  known  that  I  have  written  to  you.  I  am  telling 
my  wife  how  to  let  me  know  that  she  has  re- 
ceived it.'" 

Various  letters  of  Giovanni  and  Cunegonda  had 
already  found  their  way  into  the  Emperor's  hands, 
and  had  irritated  him  so  furiously  that  he  gave 
orders  to  the  Due  de  Rovigo  that  a  means  must  be 


THE  CHATEAU  D'lF  211 

found  immediately  and  once  for  all  to  put  a  stop 
to  their  clandestine  correspondence. 

Giovanni's  phrase,  "The  God  who  bids  us  be 
humble  forbids  us  to  degrade  ourselves,"  had  struck 
his  unacknowledged  readers  with  something  like 
panic.  A  prisoner  who  nourished  such  sentiments 
was  evidently  a  dangerous  person,  not  to  be  subdued 
by  ordinary  methods.  Only  some  very  strict  enact- 
ment could  reduce  such  a  one  to  silence. 

The  facilities  were  all  at  hand.  There  arises 
from  the  Mediterranean,  just  in  front  of  Marseilles, 
a  sharp  crag  crowned  with  a  fortress — the  Chateau 
dTf,  famous  in  history  and  romance,  defending  the 
port  and  providing  a  dungeon  from  which  evasion 
is  well-nigh  impossible  —  who,  indeed,  has  not 
gasped  over  the  miraculous  escape  of  Monte  Cristo  ? 
This  was  the  fortress  in  which  the  dangerous 
criminal,  Patrizi,  was  now  to  be  immured.  Here  is 
the  order  from  the  Due  de  Rovigo,  written  evidently 
with  some  irritation,  for  his  removal  from  Fenes- 
trelle.  The  prisoner's  title  is  not  mentioned.  He 
has  become  plain  ^  Mr.' 

'*/uly,  18 1 2. 

"  To  the  Director-General  of  Police  of  the 
Transalpine  Departments. 

"I  have  decided,  sir,  that  the  Sieur  Patrizi  shall 
be  removed  from  the  castle  of  Fenestrelle  where  he 
is  now  detained  ;  the  object  of  this  step  is  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  correspondence  which  the  prisoner  has 


212  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

never  ceased  to  keep  up  and  which  my  orders  to 
that  efFect  have  been  insufficient  to  prevent. 

**  I  send  you  herewith  the  order  of  the  Com- 
mandant to  hold  this  prisoner  at  your  disposal. 
I  beg  that  you  will  take  the  necessary  measures  for 
his  safe  conveyance  to  Marseilles.  On  his  arrival 
at  that  city  he  is  to  be  delivered  to  the  Commissary- 
General  of  Police,  to  whom  I  have  given  instruc- 
tions as  to  the  ultimate  destination  of  the  Sieur 
Patrizi. 

**  You  will  render  me  an  account  of  the  result  of 
your  care  for  the  execution  of  this  order. 
"  I  am,  sir, 

"  Etc.,  etc." 

The  final  instructions  were  these  : 

••  Paris, /«^  i8,  1812. 

**  The  Due  de  Rovigo  to  the  Commissioner  of 
the  Chateau  d'lf: 

"  I  notify  you,  sir,  that  the  Commissary-General 
of  Police  at  Marseilles  is  charged  to  bring  to  the 
fort  which  you  command  the  Sieur  Jean  Patrizi  ; 
you  are  to  receive  him  and  register  him  on  the 
books  of  the  prison  according  to  the  order  of 
imprisonment  which  will  be  remitted  to  you.  It 
will  be  necessary  for  you  to  superintend  very  care- 
fully the  correspondence  of  this  prisoner  ;  you  must 
send  to  me  all  the  letters  which  he  writes,  and  all 
those  which  come  addressed  to  him." 


THE  DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S   PROTEST    213 

The  same  notification  was  posted  the  same  day  to 
the  Commissary-General  of  Police  in  Marseilles.  It 
ends  with  instructions  to  inform  the  Duke  at  once 
of  the  arrival  of  the  prisoner  and  of  his  transfer  to 
the  Chateau  dTf 

The  sharp  reprimand  contained  in  Rovigo's  letter 
to  the  Director-General  of  the  Transalpine  Depart- 
ments called  forth  an  indignant  protest  from  that 
functionary  : 

**  Monseigneur,"  he  writes  from  Turin  on  July  24, 
"  in  conformity  with  the  orders  Your  Excellency 
condescended  to  lay  upon  me  ...  I  have  made 
arrangements  to  have  the  Sieur  Patrizi  removed 
from  the  Castle  of  Fenestrelle,  where  he  is  at  present 
detained.  He  will  be  conveyed  to  Turin  with  an 
escort,  and  I  will  see  that  the  same  care  be  taken  to 
bring  him  to  Marseilles  and  place  him  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Commissary-General  of  that  city, 
who,  as  Your  Excellency  informs  me,  has  received 
your  instructions  as  to  his  ultimate  destination. 

*'Your  Excellency  tells  me  that  this  step  is  taken 
to  put  a  stop  to  the  correspondence  maintained 
by  this  prisoner.  May  I  be  permitted,  Mon- 
seigneur, to  submit  to  you  a  few  remarks  on  this 
subject  ^  Until  now,  prisoners  not  sentenced  to 
solitary  confinement  have  had  permission  to  write 
letters  ;  this  was  the  custom  before  Fenestrelle  came 
under  my  superintendence,  and  I  always  rendered 
account  of  it  and  of  the  precautions  which  I  took  to 
prevent  its  entailing  any  abuses. 


214  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

**  I  charged  the  Commandant  of  the  fort  to  have 
brought  to  him,  and  to  read,  himself,  all  the  letters 
written  or  received  by  the  prisoners  who  were  not 
sentenced  to  isolation  and  only  to  permit  the  passage 
of  those  which  treated  of  purely  personal  matters, 
and  to  send  to  me,  on  the  other  hand,  all  communi- 
cations which  touched  on  politics  or  contained  matter 
requiring  consideration. 

"  As  for  the  prisoners  of  State  under  sentence 
of  secrecy  (complete  isolation)  the  commandant 
was  instructed  to  send  me  all  the  letters  they 
wrote  or  received,  for  my  personal  examination. 

"  For  some  time  past  I  had  included  the  Sieur 
Patrizi  in  this  special  order,  although  he  was  not 
under  sentence  of  secrecy,  because  Your  Excellency 
had  instructed  me  to  exercise  particular  watch  over 
him. 

**  Mme  Patrizi,  his  wife,  passed  through  Turin 
on  her  way  to  Paris  a  few  days  ago,  and  asked 
my  permission  to  pay  her  husband  a  visit  at 
Fenestrelle.  ...  I  refused  unconditionally.  She 
then  addressed  herself  to  H.I.H.  the  Prince 
Governor-General,  who,  having  done  me  the  honour 
to  consult  me,  also  refused  her  request ;  she  then 
continued  her  journey  to  Paris. 

"  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  all  the  precautions  I 
take,  it  is  possible  that  some  letters  escape  all  our 
watchfulness  ;  this  is  due  to  the  locality  of  this 
state  prison.  It  was  one  of  the  most  pressing 
reasons  why,  last  year,  I  begged  you   to  permit  all 


THE  DIRECTOR-GENERAL'S   PROTEST    215 

the  prisoners  to  be  lodged  in  Fort  Mosin.  In 
truth,  the  building  where  they  are  now  housed 
cannot  be  closed  to  the  military  agents  who  have 
to  visit  their  stores — a  state  of  things  which  makes 
it  necessary  for  many  persons  from  outside  to  enter 
the  prison.  It  is  impossible  to  make  sure  that  some 
one  of  them,  tempted  by  bribes,  does  not  make 
himself  the  carrier  of  secret  letters.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  all  the  repairs  at  Fort  Mosin  are  com- 
pleted and  the  prisoners  can  be  kept  there  all 
together,  they  will  have  no  chance  of  communicating 
with  any  one  except  the  turnkey  and  the  guard, 
which  will  render  the  surveillance  far  more  exact, 
this  fort  being  entirely  under  the  control  of  the 
Minister-General  of  Police  and  used  exclusively  as  a 
State  prison. 

"  I  am,  Monseigneur, 

"  Etc.,  etc., 

"L.  Danzer. 
"  Director-General    of    Police   of   the    Transalpine 
Departments.'' 

The  benevolent  authorities  were  now  only  worried 
by  one  possibility,  which  they  were  anxious  to  avoid 
at  all  costs,  the  fortuitous  meeting  of  husband  and 
wife  on  the  road  to  France.  It  seemed  that  they 
might  be  dangerously  near  one  another,  so  the 
Marchese's  itinerary  was  modified  to  meet  the 
situation.  M.  Danzer  appears  to  have  taken  to 
his  bed  after  the  passage-at-arms  with  his  irascible 


2i6  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

superior  in  Paris,  but  a  subordinate  writes  to  the 
Duke  for  him  : 

"Your  Excellency's  orders  regarding  the  Sieur 
Patrizi  have  been  executed  ;  yesterday  morning  he 
arrived  under  a  sure  escort  at  Turin,  where  he  is 
closely  guarded  by  a  gendarme  who  permits  him 
neither  to  speak  or  write  to  any  one. 

"  To-morrow  morning  he  leaves  for  Marseilles  in 
a  carriage  for  which  he  is  to  pay,  accompanied  by 
the  Quartermaster  of  Gendarmes,  to  whom  I  have 
imparted  Your  Excellency's  instructions.  .  .  .  The 
road  which  I  have  directed  for  the  prisoner  to  take 
is  the  one  by  Nice  and  the  Col  di  Tenda.  I  could 
not  permit  him  to  pass  by  Lyon,  because  it  seems 
that  Mme  Patrizi,  who  is  travelling  by  slow  stages 
to  Paris  with  her  children,  is  at  Lyon  at  this 
moment." 

So  far  the  official  view  of  the  Patrizi  case.  How 
these  ominous  changes  affected  Giovanni  himself  we 
shall  read  in  his  Journal.  The  blow  which,  to  all 
appearance,  amounted  to  doom,  fell  upon  him  quite 
suddenly,  and  Cunegonda,  awaiting  in  eager  suspense 
at  Chamb^ry  for  the  hoped-for  permission  for  her 
husband  to  accompany  her  to  Paris,  was,  perhaps 
fortunately  for  herself,  kept  in  ignorance,  for  some 
time  longer,  of  the  impassable  barrier  now  raised 
between  her  and  the  man  she  loved  so  whole- 
heartedly. 

"On  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  of  July,"  the 
Marchese  says  in  his  Memoirs,  *'  I  was  taking  my 


A  DISQUIETING  HINT  217 

usual  walk  in  the  courtyard  when  I  met  my  con- 
fessor, the  Canonico  de  Berrera,  who  asked  me  at 
what  hour  he  could  come  the  next  morning  to  speak 
to  me  in  my  room.  This  inquiry  surprised  me, 
and  I  began  to  have  gloomy  premonitions,  increased 
by  the  fact  that  I  had  already  noticed  that  my  friend 
Baccili  had  been  looking  disturbed,  and  had  let  drop 
some  disconnected  and  mysterious  phrases  about  the 
many  troubles  to  be  encountered  in  this  world — 
phrases  which  I  had  at  first  not  regarded  as  having 
particular  reference  to  myself. 

"  But  from  that  afternoon  till  the  following  morn- 
ing I  was  in  an  agony  of  anxiety,  apprehending  some 
great  misfortune  and  unable  to  divine  whether  it 
threatened  myself  or  those  my  very  dearest  ones. 
With  the  morning  came  the  Canonico  de  Berrera 
at  the  hour  I  had  named,  and,  after  those  preambles 
which  rehgion  dictates  when  a  painful  announcement 
is  about  to  be  made,  informed  me  that  I  was  about 
to  be  removed  from  Fenestrelle  and  carried  into 
France.  The  news  had  been  conveyed  in  profound 
secrecy  by  our  friend  Rolla,  in  Turin,  to  Count 
Baccili,  and  the  next  courier  would  bring  to  the 
Commandant  the  order  for  my  transfer. 

"  I  was  turned  to  stone.  Then  I  could  not  re- 
strain my  tears.  I  asked  if  it  were  known  whither 
I  was  to  be  sent,  and  the  Canonico  replied  that  no 
one  appeared  to  know.  Then  I  bowed  my  head 
to  the  divine  ordinances,  and  waited  quietly  for 
these  new  blows  of  a  cruel  Government. 


2i8  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

**On  the  evening  of  the  28th,  after  the  arrival 
of  the  courier,  I  was  summoned  to  the  presence 
of  the  Commandant,  who  communicated  to  me  an 
order  just  received  from  the  police  at  Turin,  in- 
structing him  to  have  me  sent  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
and  under  the  guard  of  a  gendarme,  to  that  place, 
where  I  was  to  be  put  at  the  disposition  of  the 
Director,  and  this  by  order  of  the  Due  de  Rovigo, 
Minister  of  Police  of  the  French  Empire.  I  pre- 
tended to  be  surprised  at  the  announcement,  of 
which  I  could  foresee  all  the  unpleasant  consequences, 
and  I  felt  renewed  regret  at  having  to  leave  this 
prison,  to  which,  after  seven  months*  residence,  I  had 
become  so  reconciled,  for  a  new  one,  where  it  was 
not  at  all  likely  that  I  could  adapt  myself  so  well. 

"  I  wrote  to  Turin  by  the  same  courier,  who  went 
back  the  next  morning,  for  my  travelling  carriage, 
which  I  had  sent  there  some  months  earlier  to  have 
it  properly  taken  care  of,  and  this  arrived  at  Fene- 
strelle,  with  friend  RoUa  inside,  on  the  morning  of 
August  1st.  That  same  day,  towards  four  o'clock, 
having  mingled  my  tears  with  those  of  the  good 
friends  and  compatriots  whom  I  was  leaving  behind, 
I  left  Fenestrelle  en  route  for  my  new  destination, 
accompanied  by  RoUa  and  a  quartermaster  of  gen- 
darmes. 

'*At  Pinerolo  I  supped,  and,  after  some  rest, 
resumed  the  journey,  arriving  at  Turin  about  seven 
in  the  morning.  There  I  went  to  the  inn  of 
'  The  Red  Bull,'  where  my  good  wife  had  stayed 


PATRIZI  AT  TURIN  219 

when  she  passed  through,  and  I  was  given  the  very 
room  which  she  had  occupied  with  my  dear  sons." 

The    Marchese    was    visited    on    his    arrival    in 

Turin    by    a    certain    Avvocato    Ferrero,    who    was 

acting  as  substitute  for  the  still  indisposed  Director 

of    Police,     M.    Danzer.       From    this    gentleman 

Giovanni  learnt  that  he  was   to  go  to  Marseilles, 

and  obtained  permission  to  remain   in  Turin  until 

August    4    in    order    to    arrange    for    his    money 

matters     and    various     business.       His    route    to 

Marseilles   was    laid    down    for    him,    by    Cuneo, 

the   Col   di  Tenda,  and    Nice.     He    says  that    he 

wanted   to    find    a    body-servant,    but,    not   liking 

the  looks  of  those  sent  to  him,  he  resolved  to  do 

without.       The   gendarme   who    had    brought  him 

from    Fenestrelle    seemed   a   good    fellow,    and  on 

the    Marchese's    request    was    designated    as     his 

escort  on  the  journey.     And  then  *' friend  Rolla," 

the  Turinese  banker,  cast  about  for  an  introduction 

to    a   banker    in    Marseilles   who    could   be   relied 

upon     to     do    whatever    lay    in     his     power     to 

accommodate  the  prisoner  of  State.     It  seems  that 

Rolla   had    no   connection   himself  with  any  house 

in    Marseilles,     so    he    applied    to   a   colleague    in 

Turin,    a   certain    M.    Gabbi,    who,    knowingly    or 

unknowingly,  gave  over  the  unfortunate  Marchese 

into  the  hands  of  a  double-dyed  traitor,  a  certain 

Signor   Carminati,    a    banker   in    Marseilles,    who, 

under  the  most  glowing  protestations  of  friendship, 

was   secretly  an  agent  of  the   police  and  betrayed 


220  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

punctually  to  them  every  confidence  with  which 
the  too  trusting  prisoner  honoured  him  during  his 
stay  at  the  Chateau  d'If.  So  perfectly  did  he 
conceal  his  transactions  with  the  authorities  that 
Patrizi  never  discovered  his  treachery,  and  it  was 
only  when  the  compiler  of  the  Memoirs  obtained 
access  to  the  police  archives  in  Paris  that  it  was 
brought  to  light,  in  a  series  of  letters  of  which 
the  first,  written  on  August  i8,  1812,  explains 
the  gist.  It  is  addressed  by  the  Commissioner- 
General  of  Police  in  Marseilles  to  the  Due  de 
Rovigo  in  Paris,  and  is  marked  "  Bureau  of  the 
Secret  Police.     For  the  Minister  only. 

"  The  Sieur  Joseph  Carminati,  a  Genoese 
merchant  established  in  Marseilles,  has  handed 
to  me  the  enclosed  literal  translation  of  a  letter 
of  credit  and  letter  of  introduction  which  his 
firm  has  received  from  the  Quartermaster  of 
Gendarmes  who  escorted  the  Sieur  Jean  Patrizi, 
prisoner  of  State,  from  Turin  to  Marseilles.  The 
Sieur  Carminati  wishes  to  know  if  he  may  fulfil 
the  commissions  which  the  Sieur  Patrizi  may  entrust 
to  him,  and  if  he  may  furnish  him  with  money 
to  the  extent  covered  by  the  letter  of  credit.  .  .  . 
The  Sieur  Patrizi  sent  a  message  to  ask 
M.  Carminati  to  inform  his  family  of  his  arrival 
in  Marseilles.  He  (Carminati)  will  send  me  all 
the  letters  which  M.  Patrizi  may  write,  and  I 
will  hasten  to  send  them  on  to  Your  Excellency. 

*'  The  Sieur  Carminati  has  an  excellent  reputa-^ 


ARRIVAL  AT   MARSEILLES  221 

tion  ;  his  intention  is  to  watch  M.  Patrizi 
carefully  and  inform  us  of  everything  he  does. 
Madame  Jolielen,  the  wife  of  the  Comr.-General 
of  Police  in  Genoa,  always  stays  with  Mr. 
Carminati  when  she  comes  to  Marseilles  ;  she  is 
in  his  house  at  this  moment. 

"  Pernon." 

Such  was  the  man  whom  Giovanni  Patrizi 
trusted  with  his  most  secret  affairs  during  his 
long  imprisonment  in  the  Chateau  d'lf,  and  whom 
he  regarded  as  such  a  faithful  friend  and  bene- 
factor that  when  Napoleon  fell  and  the  captives 
were  set  at  liberty  he  chose  to  go  and  lodge  in 
his  house,  refusing  to  stay  with  Cardinal  Consalvi, 
who  had  come  all  the  way  from  Lyon  to  hail 
and  take  possession  of  him  ! 

On  August  4  Giovanni,  always  calm  in  the 
presence  of  the  decrees  of  Heaven,  and  counting 
on  still  being  able  to  communicate  with  his  family, 
set  out  on  his  journey  to  Marseilles  with  a  quiet 
mind.  He  reached  that  place  on  the  nth,  at 
eight  in  the  evening,  and  with  his  watchful  escort 
descended  at  the  Hotel  du  Suisse  in  the  main 
street.  The  next  morning  he  was  permitted  to 
call,  as  he  says,  on  the  "  highly  commended  Signor 
Carminati,  who  received  me  with  every  politeness 
and  offered  me  all  possible  courteous  services. 
Towards  midday  I  was  presented  to  the  Com- 
missioner    of    Police,    who     caused     me    to     be 


222  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

accompanied  back  to  the  hotel  by  two  of  his 
own  men.  There  I  took  a  few  moments  to  put 
my  things  together,  and,  having  commissioned  my 
gendarme  to  go  and  ask  Signor  Carminati  to  be 
so  kind  as  to  have  my  travelling  carriage  bestowed 
in  safety,  I  walked  with  the  Police  Agents  down 
to  the  port  and  took  boat  for  the  Chateau  dTf, 
the  State  Prison  which  stands  on  a  small  island 
about  a  league  out  at  sea.  .  .  . 

**  Arrived  at  the  fort,  I  was  presented  to  the 
Commandant,  and  in  his  presence  the  jailer  made 
a  most  minute  inspection  of  everything  contained 
in  my  baggage,  after  which  this  functionary  con- 
ducted me  to  the  prison.  On  entering  this,  the 
jailer  made  a  rigorous  search  of  my  person,  and 
took  possession  of  my  pocket-book  to  show  it  to 
the  Commandant.  I  cannot  deny  that  this  search 
was  excessively  painful  to  me,  never  having  under- 
gone such  treatment  before.  I  was  then  taken  to 
the  room  assigned  to  me,  which  I  was  to  share 
with  another  prisoner,  a  very  old  Frenchman.  The 
room  was  truly  horrible — a  typical  prison  indeed  ! 
The  only  piece  of  furniture  shown  me  was  a 
wretched  bed  supplied  by  the  Government.  Oh 
how  regretfully  I  thought  of  my  nice  room  at 
Fenestrelle  !  When  night  came  I  heard  the  bolts 
drawn  across  the  door ;  the  same  was  done  to  all 
the  other  prisoners,  but  it  was  irritating  to  my 
self-respect. 

*'  The  next  day  I  took  steps  to  obtain  what  was 


A  FRESH   PRISON  223 

requisite  to  make  my  situation  less  uncomfortable, 
and  the  most  necessary  things  were  provided  by 
Signor  Carminati,  to  whom  I  addressed  the  request. 
After  a  few  days  of  imprisonment  I  asked  the 
Commandant  for  my  pocket-book,  and  this  was 
instantly  returned  to  me,  minus  some  letters  from 
my  relations  which  the  Commandant  thought  it 
his  duty  to  keep.  But  after  a  few  days  more 
these  were  also  returned,  as,  I  was  told,  there  was 
nothing  suspicious  in  them." 

It  was  several  weeks  before  Giovanni  Patrizi*s 
wife,  and  his  family  in  Rome,  were  apprised  of  his 
removal  to  the  Chateau  d'  If.  He  relates  in  his 
Memoirs  that  he  had  no  news  of  his  father  and 
mother  for  eighty-three  days,  and  Cunegonda, 
writing  on  September  10  a  letter  which  took  six 
weeks  to  reach  him,  said  that  she  had  had  no  word 
of  or  from  him  since  August  3.  The  correspondence 
of  the  Patrizi  family  was  already  piled  high  on  the 
writing-table  of  the  Due  dc  Rovigo  ! 


CHAPTER   XI 

CuNEGONDA  arrived  in  Paris  on  August  21,  18 12, 
having  stopped  for  a  day  at  Pont-sur-Seine,  her 
father's  once-beautiful  chateau,  and  her  own  birth- 
place. The  boys  were  intensely  interested  in  their 
mother's  first  home,  and  Filippo,  the  irrepressible 
writer  of  the  family,  describes  the  visit,  in  his 
journal,  and,  like  a  good  little  boy,  puts  down 
all  the  information  that  his  elders  imparted  on  the 
subject. 

"  This  morning,  the  1 9th  of  August,  we  left 
Troyes,  and  at  about  .  .  ."  (he  forgets  to  state  the 
hour)  "  arrived  at  Pont-sur-Seine,  the  property  of 
Prince  Xavier  of  Saxony,  my  mother's  father,  and 
now  unjustly  held  by  the  French  Government. 
Julius  Caesar  speaks,  in  his  '  Commentaries,'  of  this 
place,  which  was  then  called  Pons  ad  Sequenam, 
and  where  one  can  still  see  traces  of  an  ancient 
life.  About  two  miles  outside  the  town  is  a  great 
palace,  where  the  above-mentioned  Prince  lived  with 
his  family.  This  palace  has  two  beautiful  fa9ades, 
one  that  looks  on  the  posting-road  and  one  that 
looks  on  the  garden  ;  the  fa9ade  on  the  posting- 
road    has    statues   and    two    big   pavilions    (wings) 

224 


PIPPO^S  jOUiRNAL  ^25 

which  project  far  forward,  forming  a  courtyard  open 
in  the  front ;  and  these  two  paviHons  are  united  by 
a  great  arch  with  a  terrace  on  top  of  it  ;  the  side 
that  looks  towards  the  gardens  has  no  pavilions  ; 
to  enter  the  palace  from  that  side  you  must  cross 
a  bridge  over  a  great  trench  made  to  keep  the  stags 
and  the  deer  in.  In  the  palace  are  300  rooms, 
not  including  those  for  the  servants.  Behind  the 
palace  are  many  gardens  and  a  beautiful  wood,  where 
there  is  an  open-air  theatre.  In  these  gardens  are 
three  great  fish-ponds,  and  the  Seine  flows  at  the 
foot.  Near  the  palace,  on  the  side  towards  the  road, 
there  are  two  houses  opposite  one  another  and 
surrounded  with  a  wall  which  makes  an  enclosed 
court  ;  in  the  middle  there  is  a  stone  basin  for 
water.  These  were  built  by  the  afore-mentioned 
Prince  Xavier  to  keep  all  his  hunting-dogs  of  every 
kind,  he  being  very  fond  of  hunting. 

"  Of  the  town  of  Pont-sur-Seine  I  can  say  nothing, 
because  I  did  not  see  it.  We  went  to  lodge  in  the 
house  of  the  Cure,  Monsieur  Pesme,  a  man  most 
estimable  for  his  good  qualities,  of  which  esteem  is 
also  worthy  his  brother,  the  Cur6  of  Sevigny.  By 
these  two  excellent  personages  we  were  extremely 
kindly  treated,  and  we  stayed  till  the  20th." 

The  compiler  of  the  Memoirs  tells  us  that  there 
are  two  copies  of  Pippo's  journal  in  the  "  archivio  " 
of  Casa  Patrizi,  but  that  one  of  them  has  been  evi- 
dently much  revised  and  corrected  by  well-meaning 
elders.    That  here  given  is  from  the  little  man's  own 

15 


226  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

point  of  view,  pure  and  simple,  and  strikes  one  as  a 
remarkably  lucid  and  intelligent  production  for  a 
child  who  was  not  yet  nine  years'  old. 

Upon  her  arrival  in  Paris,  the  Marchesa  Patrizi 
was  informed  that  henceforth  all  her  letters  to  her 
husband  were  to  be  written  in  French,  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  police.  She  heard  rumours  that  he 
had  been  transferred  to  a  new  prison,  but  for  a  long 
time  remained  in  ignorance  of  his  real  address. 

"  I  did  not  know  how  or  where  to  send  you  news 
of  us,"  she  writes  at  last,  *'  and  I  was  going  to  risk 
writing  to  the  Commandant  of  Chateau  d'lf  and  the 
Commandant  of  Hyeres  to  ask  if  you  were  in  either 
of  those  prisons ;  but,  thank  God,  your  letters 
received  yesterday  have  relieved  my  suspense,  and, 
what  is  more,  tell  me  that  you  arc  well.  They  are 
of  the  24th  and  28th  of  August,  and  you  say  this 
last  is  the  sixth  you  have  written  to  me,  so  four  are 
missing.  1  wish  I  could  give  wings  to  mine  to-day 
to  make  it  reach  you  more  rapidly,  for  you  must  be 
anxious  about  us.  I  will  hasten  to  say  that  all  went 
happily  during  the  second  part  of  our  journey  ;  our 
dear  children  are  well  ;  they  kiss  your  hands,  and 
only  do  not  add  a  few  lines  to  this  letter  because 
they  cannot  write  in  French.  Our  excellent  friend" 
(Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani)  "for  the  same  reason 
commissions  me  to  give  you  a  thousand  and  yet  a 
thousand  affectionate  greetings  from  him.  I  will 
not  talk  about  my  own  health,  because  it  is  always 
bad.     My  address  here  is  Rue  Jacob,  H6tel  d'Ham- 


CUNEGONDA   IN   PARIS  227 

bourg,  18,  Faub.  Saint  Germain.  My  lodging  is 
clean  but  very  small,  our  finances  permitting  nothing 
more  expensive.  My  life  is  solitary.  ...  I  rarely 
go  lout,  as  the  least  walk  fatigues  me.  I  am  glad 
you  are  getting  some  sea-baths  ;  they  will  do  you 
good.  I  fancy  you  have  made  up  for  all  the  cold 
you  endured  at  Fenestrelle,  for  it  must  have  been 
very  warm  on  those  lonely  rocks  "  (of  the  Chateau 
d'lf).  "I  will  write  to  Rome  about  you,  in  case  they 
have  had  no  news  of  you  there.  Good-bye,  my  very 
dear  Giovanni.  Keep  well,  and  think  of  me  as  I 
think  without  ceasing  of  you. 

"  GONDINA." 

On  September  1 6  a  hurried  note  says  : 

"  I  am  longing  to  know  that  you  have  received 
my  first  letter  "  (from  Paris)  "  and  also  news  from 
Rome.  I  was  in  a  fever  of  impatience  to  write  to 
you  ;  but,  not  knowing  where  you  were,  or  whether 
it  were  permitted  that  I  should  write  to  you,  I 
searched  about  in  vain  for  means  to  let  you  have 
news  of  us.  I  wrote  to-day  by  the  Government 
messenger  to  your  mother,  that  she  might  the  sooner 
have  yours,  for  which  she  was  in  mortal  anxiety.  .  .  . 
Have  you  found  any  one  to  wait  upon  you  ?  Oh, 
how  many  things  there  are  that  I  want  to  know  !  " 

Then  comes  the  account  of  poor  Marchesa 
Patrizi's  efforts  to  see  the  Due  de  Rovigo.  On  the 
27  th  she  says  : 


228  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

"  Last  Friday  I  went  to  see  the  Minister  of  Police. 
This  makes  the  fifth  time  I  have  been  to  his  door, 
and  this  time  at  last  I  was  admitted.  Before  I  could 
speak  he  told  me  that  I  was  to  ask  nothing  for  you, 
since  you  yourself  had  forbidden  me  to  do  so  in 
your  letters,  a  fact  which  it  would  be  useless  for  me 
to  deny  ;  I  replied  that  I  felt  free  to  ask,  in  spite  of 
that,  and  that  I  did  ask  for  your  liberation,  and  I 
continued  to  urge  the  point  very  insistently.  He 
gave  me  no  definite  answer,  but  I  do  not  abandon 
the  hope  of  obtaining  what  I  desire,  and  I  assure 
you  that  my  own  wish  united  with  yours  and  that  of 
your  mother  as  well  as  of  our  mutual  friend  keeps 
me  in  a  state  of  intense  impatience  to  obtain  the 
favour.  I  spoke  also  (to  the  Duke)  of  the  sequestra- 
tions, and  he  promised  me  that  if  he  found  the  order 
emanated  from  himself  he  would  have  it  rescinded 
at  once  ;  if,  however,  it  had  come  from  the  Emperor 
we  should  have  to  wait  for  the  latter's  return  ;  I 
hope  it  did  come  from  the  Duke,  and  that  so  it  will 
soon  be  removed.  There,  my  very  dear  one,  is  all 
that  I  have  been  able  to  do  so  far  !  Keep  up  your 
courage  and  let  us  be  confident  that  at  last  God  will 
grant  us  all  that  we  desire.  .  .  ." 

The  worst  cruelty  of  Giovanni  Patrizi's  imprison- 
ment was  the  absolute  ignorance  in  which  he  was 
intentionally  kept  about  his  wife  and  family.  It 
was  maddening  to  Cunegonda  to  discover  that  her 
long,  faithful  letters  never  reached  their  proper 
destination.     She    was,   in    spite  of  all  her  exalted 


A   PATHETIC   LETTER  229 

training,  a  very  human  woman,  and  sometimes  her 
feelings  got  the  better  of  her  prudence. 

"  Oh  !  how  I  wish  you  could  send  me  word  that 
my  letters  reach  you,"  she  cries,  on  the  8  th  of 
October,  from  Paris,  "  I  am  more  and  more  surprised 
that  you  have  as  yet  received  not  one  of  them. 
Every  time  I  get  one  of  yours  I  dream  that  it  will 
be  an  answer  to  mine — but  nothing  of  the  kind  !  It 
is  always  the  same  thing  for  both  of  us  !  " 

And  a  day  or  two  later  :  "  This  will  be  short,  for 
when  I  have  told  you  that  we  are  all  well  there  will 
be  nothing  more  to  say.  Here  is  the  eighth  letter  I 
have  written  you — it  is  terrible  to  think  that  for  two 
months  and  a  half  you  have  been  in  complete  ignor- 
ance of  what  had  become  of  us  !  ...  I  feel  it  is 
useless  to  write  you  letters  doomed  to  be  lost,  but 
as  I  hear  now  that  mine  are  all  in  the  hands  of 
the  Commandant  of  the  Chateau  d'lf,  I  am  sending 
this  one  to  him  direct,  begging  him,  as  a  favour,  to 
let  you  have  the  others,  or,  if  that  is  impossible,  at 
least  to  tell  you  our    news,   which,  thank  God,  is 

good.  .  .  r 

Ten  days  later,  on  the  21st  of  October,  she  writes  : 
"Your  last  letter,  my  very  dear  Giovanni,  of  the 
7th,  was  a  very  sad  one,  but  I  am  glad  you  wrote  it, 
since  it  eased  you.  I  beg  you  not  to  think  of  the 
pain  which  the  relation  of  your  suffering  may  cause 
me,  but  to  write  as  fully  as  you  feel  disposed  ;  1  am 
only  too  glad  if,  by  doing  so,  you  can  gain  a  few 
moments  of  consolation.  .  .  . 


J 

230  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

**  I  wrote  you  that  I  was  working  for  your  libera- 
tion and  the  removal  of  the  sequestrations.  I  con- 
tinue to  make  these  attempts,  and  though  as  yet  I 
see  no  results,  I  do  not  lose  courage.  .  .  /' 

November  i,  1812. 

"  It  is  almost  a  year  since  we  were  separated  and  it 
seems  very  long  !  ...  I  am  sure  my  letters  (if  they 
ever  reach  you  !)  must  seem  very  dull,  for  to  me 
they  seem  all  alike,  and  there  is  nothing  new  to  tell 
you  .  .  .  everything  revolves  round  our  mutual  sor- 
row and  our  much-broken-up  correspondence.  .  .  ." 

On  November  15  Cunegonda  gives  her  husband 
some  quaint  details  of  the  restricted  housekeeping 
made  necessary  by  the  low  state  of  her  funds.  She 
had  tried  to  give  up  her  one  cup  of  chocolate  a  day 
**  for  the  sake  of  economy,"  but  to  her  regret  had  to 
commit  the  extravagance  of  returning  to  it.  She 
chronicles  with  much  disapproval  the  fashionable 
hours  in  vogue  in  Paris — dinner  at  five  o'clock, 
sometimes  actually  as  late  as  six  !  She,  however, 
resists  all  temptations  to  be  drawn  into  this  vortex  of 
dissipation,  and  says  that  the  family  keeps  severely  to 
the  primitive  Roman  regime  ! 

On  the  1 2th  comes  a  little  cry  from  her  heart  : 
"  If  only  I  could  set  you  free  by  taking  your 
place !  .  .  .  You  ask  me  for  more  details  about 
the  children.  ...  I  scarcely  know  what  to  tell  you 
.  .  .  everything    goes    on    precisely  as  it  has  done 


PROUD   POVERTY  231 

wherever  we  have  stopped  on  the  way.  I  make 
them  continue  their  studies  as  far  as  possible,  and 
not  a  moment  of  the  day  is  ever  wasted.  Xavier 
grows  very  rapidly  ;  I  think  he  must  already  be 
taller  than  you,  but  he  ought  to  grow  stouter — he 
is  as  thin  as  a  lath,  but  quite  well,  which  is  the 
essential.  Pippo  stays  where  he  was,  is  pretty  fat, 
and  as  cross  as  ever  at  growing  no  taller  !  " 

''Nov.  16,  1 8 12. 

"  Though  I  have  not  had  any  letters  from  you, 
my  very  dear  Giovanni,  I  will  write  two  lines  just 
to  give  you  news  of  us — thank  God,  good,  in 
spite  of  the  rain,  t^e  fog,  the  mud,  and  the  cold, 
for  we  have  all  this  at  once.  You  can  have  no 
idea  what  the  streets  of  Paris  are  at  this  season  ; 
one  walks  on  a  mattress  of  mud,  so  I  stay  indoors  as 
much  as  I  can.  .  .  .  The  children  take  long  walks 
with  the  Cavaliere,  and  that  does  them  much  good. 
When  they  cannot  go  out  they  play  at  battledore 
and  shuttlecock  to  get  a  little  exercise,  although  it 
is  true  our  rooms  are  so  small  that  we  can  scarcely 
move.  Xavier's  room  is  so  tiny  that  the  bed  fills 
it  completely,  and  the  bed  itself  is  too  short  for 
him  ;  and  if  the  window  is  open  one  cannot  get 
into  the  room  at  all  !  Luckily  he  is  only  there  at 
night.  .  .  .  My  own  room  is  more  a  passage  than 
a  bedroom  .  .  .  but  the  lodging  is  cheap,  and  the 
proprietors  of  the  hotel  very  good  people  and 
most  obliging.     Monsignor  Marini  and  his  nephew 


232  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

are  also  staying  in  this  house,  and  we  see  them 
often." 

The  Marchesa's  long  stay  in  Paris — for  she 
showed  no  disposition  to  move  until  her  petition 
for  her  husband*s  liberation  should  be  granted — 
began  to  irritate  the  Due  de  Rovigo,  and  called 
forth  an  order  to  conduct  her  sons  at  once  to  the 
Prytan6e  de  la  Fleche.  This  command,  though  not 
unexpected,  troubled  her  greatly.  On  November  22 
she  wrote  :  "  After  remaining  for  many  days  in 
ignorance  as  to  the  result  of  my  two  petitions,  and 
hearing  nothing  from  the  Minister  regarding  the 
origin  of  the  order  of  sequestration — tormented 
greatly,  too,  by  not  having  obtained  your  liberation 
— I  again  importuned  the  Minister  on  both  those 
subjects,  and,  by  way  of  reply,  was  ordered  to  present 
myself  to  the  Prefect  of  Police,  by  whom  I  was 
informed  that,  according  to  the  Minister's  orders, 
it  was  impossible  to  consider  either  of  my  petitions 
until  my  children  should  have  been  received  into 
the  College  at  La  Fleche.  I  was  overcome  with 
sorrow  at  this  news,  and  could  only  answer  by 
imploring  again  and  again  that  you  should  be  given 
hack  to  me  ! 

"  Having  afterwards  received  your  letter  in  which 
you  advised  me  to  refer  our  sad  affairs  to  our 
relative,  Prince  Corsini,  whom  you  supposed  to  be 
in  Paris  at  present,  I  found  and  spoke  to  his 
brother,  Don  Neri  .  .  .  but  unhappily  he  had 
been  charged  by  the  Minister  of  Police   to  repeat 


THE   COLLEGE  AT   LA   FLECHE         233 

these  threats,  which  melancholy  commission  he  carried 
out  on  Monday.  On  Wednesday  I  received  orders 
from  the  Prefect  of  Police  to  go  to  him  again 
on  Thursday  morning ;  but,  having  learnt  from 
Don  Neri  just  what  the  Prefect  would  say,  and 
being  completely  worn  out  both  physically  and 
morally,  I  sent  word  that  I  was  not  well  enough  to 
go,  that  I  understood  what  it  was  that  he  wished 
to  say  to  me,  and  that  I  would  send  my  answer 
the  next  day.  .  .  .  This  I  did  .  .  .  the  answer 
being  a  letter  to  you,  telling  you  all  that  had 
occurred,  and  asking  to  know  your  wishes  before 
taking  any  decision  on  such  an  important  subject. 
This  letter  I  enclosed  with  a  note  to  the  Prefect, 
in  which  I  begged  him  to  give  it  to  the  Minister, 
with  the  prayer  that  he  would  have  it  conveyed 
to  you  quickly  and  safely,  and  let  me  have  your 
answer  to  it  in  the  same  manner.  An  hour  after- 
wards the  Prefect  returned  me  the  letter,  saying 
that  I  was  at  liberty  to  send  it  direct  to  the 
Minister  if  I  liked,  but  that  he  himself  was  charged 
with  the  execution  of  the  Emperor's  command  in 
regard  to  my  children,  and,  seeing  my  resistance, 
he  warned  me  that  he  would  be  obliged  to  take 
the  necessary  measures  to  carry  them  out.  So 
yesterday,  while  we  were  at  dinner,  a  Commissioner 
of  Police  came  to  tell  me  that  the  Prefect  had 
named  a  person  to  take  my  children  to  La  Fleche 
within  twenty-four  hours.  I  asked  if  I  too  might 
name  some  one  to  go  with  them  ;  he  said,  certainly, 


234  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

I  could  go  myself  if  I  wished.  Meanwhile  this 
Police  Agent  has  established  himself  in  the  house 
to  keep  the  children  under  his  own  eyes,  and  to 
travel  with  us.  This  being  Sunday,  I  asked  for  a 
delay  till  Tuesday  ;  the  banks  are  closed  to-day, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  get  any  money.  I  do  not 
know  yet  if  the  delay  will  be  granted,  but  I  hope 
so,  and  1  will  tell  you  before  I  close  this  letter. 
I  have  been  assured  and  assured  again  that  in 
fifteen  days  you  will  be  set  at  liberty.  I  hope  it, 
and  in  my  extreme  sorrow  that  will  be  a  very  great 
consolation  to  which  I  look  forward  eagerly. 

*'  P.S. — I  have  obtained  the  respite  till  Tuesday. 
Be  quite  happy  about  my  health — God  sustains  me." 

Here  little  Filippo  takes  up  his  chronicle. 

"  On  the  24M  day  of  November  1812.     Tuesday. 

**  As  a  number  of  things  happened  to  us  (!)  we 
were  made  to  leave  Paris  for  La  Fleche  accompanied 
by  a  certain  M.  Martin,  Commissioner  of  Police. 
So  we  started  with  six  horses  (though  we  were 
paying  for  seven),  being  six  people  in  the  carriage, 
my  mother,  the  Chevalier  Giustiniani,  my  brother, 
a  maid,  and  M.  Martin  and  Giuseppe  our  servant  ; 
but  he  went  outside.  Leaving  there  at  about  ten 
in  the  morning,  we  passed  out  of  the  barrier  of 
Chaillot,  following  the  Seine  on  our  left,  and  one 
sees  on  the  right  a  big  town.  The  road  is  flat  but 
stony,  which  caused  the  lock  of  a  trunk  on  the  back 
to  be  broken,  and  so  we  lost  something. 


VERSAILLES  AND  COIGNIERE         235 

"After  passing  the  Seine  we  reached  Sevres,  a 
post  and  a  quarter  from  Paris.  This  post  is  a  city, 
and  there  is  a  beautiful  avenue.  Here  a  coachman 
of  a  diligence  brought  back  to  us  some  of  the  things 
which,  as  I  said  above,  we  had  lost. 

'*  After  Sevres  there  is  nothing  much.  One  post 
further  we  arrived  at  Versailles,  a  city  of  3,000 
souls,  where  the  Kings  of  France  used  to  live,  and 
there  is  a  beautiful  palace  on  a  great  Square,  all 
ornamented  with  colonnades. 

*'  Here  there  is  now  the  School  for  Pages 
(Pageria)  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  L  Here  we 
changed  horses  and  hurried  on.  Just  outside  the 
city  there  is  a  big  frozen  fish-pond.  On  the  rest  of 
the  road  nothing  worth  noticing.  At  half-past  one 
we  reached  Coigni^re,  a  small  place  and  an  ugly 
one  ;  we  stopped  at  the  only  inn,  the  "  White 
Horse,"  of  which  I  cannot  judge,  having  seen  only 
one  poor  old  room  on  the  ground-floor  where  we 
had  dinner.  But  I  was  told  that  there  are  some 
decent  rooms.  The  owners  of  this  inn  are  very 
moderate,  having  only  asked  us  12  francs  and  to 
sous  for  an  excellent  dinner.  .  .  . 

*'  After  a  post  and  three-quarters  we  got  to 
Rambouillet.  We  went  to  the  Hotel  St.  Martin, 
which  is  very  clean  but  also  very  dear. 

**  Second  day. 

''After  a  discussion  with  the  innkeeper,  who 
insisted  on  charging  32  francs,  we  came  downstairs 
at  half-past  eight    to  go    away  ;  but,  the  postilions 


236  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

having  broken  the  coach -ladder  (to  climb  to  the 
top),  we  had  to  wait  to  get  it  mended  ;  but  that 
could  not  be  done,  so  it  had  to  be  taken  off.  On 
leaving  Rambouillet  we  took  the  road  to  Chartres 
...  it  passes  by  many  small  frozen  lakes  and  ponds, 
and  also  many  little  villages  consisting  of  a  few 
huts  .  .  .  thatched  with  straw.  .  .  .  We  reached 
Chartres  at  half-past  twelve  and  went  to  the  Hotel 
of  the  *  Grand  Monarque.'  It  is  very  clean  but 
very  expensive,  and  is  outside  the  city,  which  has 
about  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants  and  a  beautiful 
Cathedral  of  Gothic  architecture.  At  a  quarter  past 
five  we  got  to  Courville,  an  inconsiderable  town, 
where  we  passed  the  night. 

"  Third  day. 

"...  At  the  posting-station  of  Nogent-le- 
Rotrou  one  of  the  postilions  fell  with  his  horse  and 
the  wheel  passed  over  his  thigh,  but,  thank  God, 
did  not  injure  him.  .  .  .  While  we  were  at  dinner 
at  La  Nert6-Bernard  they  put  two  wedges  in  the 
centre  hole  of  the  big  wheel  because  it  was  broken 
and  the  axle  was  wearing  through  it.  We  reached 
Con6r6  at  a  quarter-past  six,  and  stopped  at  the 
good  and  moderate  hotel  of  St.  Jean,  which  is  out- 
side the  town,  and  forty  years  ago  was  all  burnt ;  but 
it  has  been  rebuilt. 

"  Fourth  day. 

"  Feeling  very  much  satisfied  with  the  inn-keeper 
of  the  hotel,  we  left  Con^r6  about  9  o*clock  ;  but 
there  was  such  a  thick  fog  on  the  road  that  I  could 


ARRIVAL  AT  LA  FLECHE  237 

not  sec  if  there  was  anything  to  note  about  it.  .  .  . 
At  Mans  we  had  to  wait  half  an  hour  to  get  a  wheel 
mended.  ...  At  last,  to  our  great  sorrow,  we  ap- 
proached our  sad  destination.  .  .  .  Arrived  at  the 
town  of  La  Fl^che,  we  got  down  at  the  least  bad 
of  the  inns,  the  '  Golden  Lion,'  kept  by  Mme. 
Boisseau,  a  good  honest  woman." 

In  the  last  note  in  Pippo's  diary  is  added,  later  : 
*'  Here  we  stayed  till  December  3,  on  which  day 
took  place  our  hard  separation  from  our  Lady 
Mother." 

So  it  was  done  at  last.  All  Cunegonda's 
innocent  plots  to  gain  time,  all  her  valiant  rebellions, 
her  agonised  prayers,  had  been  in  vain.  The  boys 
were  taken  from  her  and  shut  up  in  the  detested 
school,  and  she,  poor  faithful  soul,  bravely  turned 
her  eyes  towards  her  husband's  liberation,  which 
both  he  and  she  then  believed  would  be  granted 
as  the  price  of  the  enforced  sacrifice.  What  the 
weary  journey  from  Paris  to  La  Fl^che,  through 
the  frozen  country,  meant  to  her  no  one  ever 
heard  her  say.  She  never  even  referred  to  her 
feelings  during  those  last  few  troubled  days  that 
she  had  her  children  with  her — dear  and  precious 
days  in  spite  of  all  fatigue  and  discomforts  of  the 
long  rough  journey.  Her  first  letter  from  La 
Fl^che  to  her  husband  is  all  cheerfulness  and  good 
sense,  intended  to  comfort  him  for  the  sorrow 
that    lay    so    heavily  on    them    both.     This    letter 


238  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

describes    the  surroundings  in  which,  taking  every 
possible  chance  of  seeing  the  children,  she   was   to 
remain  for  nearly  two  years  ! 
On  November  29  she  writes  : 

"  I  arrived  here  on  Friday  evening  .  .  .  and  I 
would  have  wished  to  write  to  you  at  once,  but 
yesterday  I  was,  as  you  may  imagine,  so  tired  that 
I  had  neither  the  courage  nor  strength  to  do  so. 
Our  journey  was  prosperous,  but  very  cold  ;  every- 
thing was  frozen.  The  Commissioner  of  Police 
put  in  charge  of  our  children  behaved  very  properly, 
but  you  will  understand  how  it  annoyed  us  to  have 
him  in  the  carriage  ;  he  goes  back  to-morrow. 

*'  I  have  already  seen  the  Sub-Prefect  of  the 
town  ;  he  is  the  brother  of  the  Prefect  of  Paris, 
and  exceedingly  gentle  and  polite.  He  came  to 
see  me  last  evening  ;  and  this  morning  General 
Duteil,  the  Director  of  the  Prytan^e,  paid  me  a 
visit.  Every  one  seems  to  speak  well  of  him. 
We  are  still  at  the  hotel,  which  is  anything  but 
good,  but  the  General  has  already  found  me  a 
small  furnished  house,  which  I  will  go  and  look  at 
to-morrow.  We  are  all  quite  well,  thank  God, 
and  indeed  it  is  by  a  special  grace  from  Him 
that  I  have  been  able  to  bear  up  under  so  many 
sorrows,  following  one  upon  another  and  ever 
increasing.  I  am  actively  working  for  your  libera- 
tion, and  hope  to  obtain  it  soon  now. 

**  What    happiness    it   will   be  for  me,  my   dear, 


THE  BOYS  ENTER  COLLEGE  239 

when  I  can  see  you  again  !  What  a  quantity  of 
things  we  shall  have  to  say  to  each  other  after 
over  a  year  of  separation — and  a  year  so  crowded 
too,  with  events  ! 

*'  This  place  is  ugly  and  small,  but  I  care  little. 
The  life  I  lead  does  not  foster  the  desire  to  live 
in  a  great  city  !  Our  good,  excellent  friend  makes 
himself  ever  more  helpful  to  me  ;  he  salutes  you, 
and  the  children  kiss  your  hand.  They  sec  with 
heavy  hearts  the  approaching  moment  of  our 
separation  !  " 

The  next  letter,  dated  December  8,  informed 
Giovanni  that  his  sons  had  entered  the  college. 
Cunegonda  writes  bravely  as  usual. 

*'  Our  boys  entered  the  college  on  Thursday. 
I  have  facilities  for  seeing  them  during  their  hour 
of  recreation.  They  are  well,  but  each  day  makes 
me  more  unhappy  at  being  separated  from  them, 
and  I  need  to  make  constant  acts  of  resignation.  .  .  . 
Good-bye — I  must  go  and  warm  myself,  for  I  am 
as  frozen  as  the  wells  of  La  Fleche." 

On  the  13th  of  the  month  she  says:  "Each 
letter  I  write  to  you  now  I  promise  myself  that 
it  is  the  last  I  shall  have  to  address  to  the  Chateau 
d'lf,  and  that  from  one  day  to  another  now  I 
shall  receive  the  joyful  news  of  your  liberation. 
Heavens !  how  long  the  time  seems  till  it  shall 
come  !  Every  time  I  hear  a  posting-carriage  go 
by  1  fancy  that  you  have  come,  without  reflecting 


240  THE  PATRI2I  MEMOIRS 

that  it  would  be  all  but  impossible  for  you  to  get 
here  so  quickly. 

"  Since  my  last  letter  to  you  I  have  received 
three  of  yours,  dated  the  i8th,  22nd,  and  23rd  of 
November.  In  that  of  the  22nd  you  proved  a  true 
prophet ;  for,  without  knowing  at  all  what  was 
happening,  you  wrote  that  you  had  a  presentiment 
that  I  was  more  than  usually  troubled  just  then, 
and  it  was  precisely  then  (as  you  will  have  seen  if 
my  letter  of  that  time  has  ever  reached  you)  that 
they  had  obliged  us  to  leave  Paris  so  suddenly. 
It  surprised  me,  as  it  did  our  friend "  (Don 
Lorenzo),  "  that  you  should  have  had  this  intuition 
about  me. 

*'  I  come  now  to  your  letter  of  the  24th.  You 
divined  rightly  in  thinking  that  our  talk  reverted 
constantly  to  the  sad  anniversary  of  the  day  after 
...  it  made  our  journey  yet  more  mournful,  as 
we  remembered  it.  .  .  .  At  last  you  have  had  letters 
from  Rome !  I  can  imagine  what  a  comfort  they 
must  have  been.  But  they  were  very  much  retarded, 
even  as  mine  of  the  13th  of  October,  of  which  you 
now  speak  ;  but  it  is  better  than  nothing,  at  any 
rate.  I  got  a"  (Roman)  ''letter  of  the  25th  of 
November  yesterday.  That  is  a  little  more  recent 
than  yours.  I  think  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  your 
father  made  a  little  expedition  to  Siena  ;  he  was 
four  days  at  Quirico  with  the  Chigis  and  one  day 
at  Siena.  The  *Bailli'"  (Ruspoli)  "declares  that 
the  object  of  the  journey  was  to  make  an  inventory 


HOPE  DEFERRED  241 

of  the  old  pictures  and  arm-chairs  which  are  still 
in  the  apartment  your  father  rented  to  him,  so  that 
at  his  death  there  should  be  no  disputes  with  the 
Sovereign  Order  of  Malta,  if  it  ever  be  revived. 

"...  You  ask  after  my  health  ;  but  how  is  it 
possible  to  feel  well  in  such  circumstances  ?  It  is 
a  miracle  that  I  am  alive.  1  will  not  give  you 
details  about  the  children.  We  can  talk  about 
them  when  you  get  here.  I  will  only  say  that, 
but  for  colds,  they  are  well,  and  they  ask  for  your 
blessing.  It  is  bitterly  cold.  If  one  leaves  the  fire 
for  a  moment  one  is  frozen,  and  my  fingers  just 
now  are  like  ice.'* 

If  ever  a  heart  knew  the  torment  of  hope  de- 
ferred, it  was  that  of  Cunegonda  during  these  months 
at  La  Fleche.  She  had  regarded  her  husband's 
liberation  as  certain  from  the  moment  when  the 
children  had  been  brought,  practically  under  arrest, 
to  the  college,  and  she  even  shows  some  little  im- 
patience when  Giovanni's  faith  in  the  happy  event 
does  not  keep  pace  with  hers.  He  writes  to  ask  her 
to  have  some  portraits  taken  of  herself  and  the 
boys,  that  he  might  have  the  consolation  of  looking 
at  the  beloved  faces  in  his  solitude.  On  December  1 6 
she  replies,  apparently  for  the  second  time,  to  his 
request : 

"  I  told  you  that  I  hoped  it  would  be  only  a  short 
time  before   you   would   see    the    originals,   and    as 
this  hope  is  now  greatly  strengthened  it  seems  use- 
less to  have  the  portraits  made  here,   and  in  any 
16 


242  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

case  it  would  be  very  difficult,  if  not  altogether 
impossible.  However,  if  my  anticipations  should 
unhappily  not  be  realised,  I  will  try  to  procure 
what  you  desire.  I  will  give  Xavier  your  messages 
for  his  fete-day.  You  wrote  this  '*  (last)  *'  letter  on 
the  eve  of  the  anniversary  of  our  cruel  separation. 
How  many  tears  and  sorrows  do  these  children  cost 
us  ?  Xavier  understands  it  all  ;  Pippo  is  still  very 
heedless  for  his  age,  and  this  makes  me  troubled 
for  him  and  keeps  me  in  continual  sharp  anxiety 
on  his  account,  apart  from  the  pain  of  being  sepa- 
rated from  him.  1  cannot  get  accustomed  to  this 
loneliness,  especially  after  having  the  boys  with  me 
from  morning  till  night  for  a  whole  year.  May  the 
will  of  God  be  done." 

The  correspondence  between  husband  and  wife 
was  at  this  time  all  but  paralysed  by  the  severity 
of  the  police  and  the  all  too  ready  zeal  of  the 
Commandant  of  the  Chateau  d'lf  to  carry  out  and 
even  surpass  the  Minister's  instructions.  On 
Christmas  Day,  1812,  Cunegonda  writes  in  great 
depression  : 

"  I  have  let  a  few  more  days  than  usual  go  by 
without  writing  to  you,  my  dear  Giovanni.  I  confess 
that  I  am  getting  weary  of  writing  uselessly,  for  I 
reflect  that  if  this  letter  reaches  you  at  all  it  will  be 
over  a  month  hence,  and  that  is  discouraging.  After 
all,  the  only  interesting  subject  on  which  we  can 
speak  to  one  another  is  that  of  our  own  and  our 
friends*  health — and  if  I  tell  you  that  we  are  all  well 


PETTY  PERSECUTION  243 

to-day,  you  will  only  know  it  towards  February — 
and  it  takes  away  all  one's  wish  to  write. 

*'  Never  mind,  let  us  persevere,  in  the  hope  that 
'  they '  will  get  tired  of  always  reading  the  same 
thing  and  will  at  last  permit  our  letters  to  go 
through  directly.  It  will  be  a  year  to-morrow  since 
I  left  Rome — my  dear  Rome  !  " 

A  day  or  two  later  she  remarks  sarcastically :  "  It 
is  really  delightful  to  hear,  on  the  28  th  of  December, 
that  you  have  received  my  September  letters  !  That 
becomes  really  interesting  !  "  Then,  softening,  she 
says,  as  her  New  Year's  greeting :  "  God  grant  that 
this  coming  year  be  happier  than  the  one  we  have 
just  passed  through — at  least,  it  could  scarcely  be 
worse  !  " 

Indeed,  the  correspondence  which  could  so  greatly 
have  lightened  this  time  of  trial  for  Giovanni  and 
his  wife  had  now  become  a  source  of  constant 
worry  and  irritation.  Although  restricting  them- 
selves to  the  constant  repetition  of  one  or  two 
uncompromising  facts,  which  had  to  pass  the  judg- 
ment of  the  argus-eyed  police,  nothing  was  allowed 
to  be  forwarded  to  either  of  them  without  many 
weeks  of  delay,  and,  so  long  as  the  Empire  lasted, 
it  seemed  to  give  actual  pleasure  to  the  authorities  to 
make  their  situation  as  painful  as  possible.  Gio- 
vanni's letters  were  allowed  to  pile  up  on  the  table 
of  the  Commandant  of  the  fort,  day  after  day — 
sometimes  he  waited  till  there  were  seven  lying 
there  before  he  sent  them  on  to  Paris — a  negligence, 


244  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

indeed,  for  which  he  was  at  various  times  reproved 
by  the  Due  de  Rovigo,  who  wished  to  be  kept 
au  courant  of  the  Patrizi  sentiments  and  concerns. 
These  packets  of  correspondence  lay  about  in  the 
police  office  for  an  infinite  time  before  being  sent 
on  to  Rome  or  La  Fl^che,  if  they  were  judged 
innocuous  ;  but  if  they  aroused  the  slightest  sus- 
picion they  were,  as  we  have  seen,  forwarded  to  the 
Emperor  for  his  personal  perusal.  The  result  was 
that  very  often  a  perfect  mass  of  Patrizi  corre- 
spondence lay  jumbled  upon  the  Minister's  table. 
Those  of  Giovanni  to  his  wife  would  (when  some- 
body undertook  to  clear  the  papers  up)  all  be  for- 
warded together  with  those  to  his  parents  in  Rome. 
Thence  they  were  returned  to  the  Chateau  d*If, 
to  start  once  more  on  their  travels  to  Paris,  and 
again  reach  the  Due  de  Rovigo.  No  wonder  that 
months  and  months  intervened  between  the  writing 
and  the  reception  of  the  missives  ! 


CHAPTER    XII 

The  Marchesa  found  much  consolation  in  the  kind 
and  amenable  attitude  of  the  Director  of  the  College 
at  La  Fleche,  General  Duteil.  This  good  man 
always  sent  the  boys  home  for  their  holidays,  and 
took  advantage  of  any  little  indisposition  of  theirs 
which  could  furnish  an  excuse,  without  infringing 
the  rules  of  the  college,  to  let  them  be  with  their 
mother  for  a  time. 

Once,  however,  the  good  General  becomes  almost 
panic-stricken  on  hearing  of  a  threatened  visit  of 
inspection,  and  writes  in  great  haste  to  Cunegonda  : 

"  Madame, 

"  Having  been  informed  by  M.  le  General 
Bellevue  that  he  is  coming  here  immediately  to  make 
his  inspection,  it  is  indispensable  that  Messieurs 
your  sons  should  at  once  return  to  the  school.  I 
know  that  the  youngest  is  ill.  You  will  keep  him 
until  he  has  recovered,  but  I  must  rely  for  this  on 
your  own  delicate  feeling,  for  you  will  understand 
that  the  sudden  arrival  of  the  Inspector  would  put 
me  in  an  awkward  position.  It  cannot  be  doubted 
that    other    parents,   whose    requests    to    have  their 

245 


246  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

children  at  home  I  have  refused,  would  instantly 
inform  him  that  I  have  permitted  you  to  have  yours. 
I  will  do  everything  in  my  power  to  facilitate  your 
interviews  with  your  sons.  Pray  believe,  Madame, 
how  much  I  desire  to  be  agreeable  to  you.  .  .  . 
Your  very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant, 

"Gen.  Duteil.*' 

On  January  i,  1813,  Cunegonda  received  from 
Rome  the  welcome  news  that  the  order  of  seques- 
tration had  been  removed  from  all  the  Patrizi 
property  except  the  estates  in  Tuscany,  and  these 
too  were  freed  a  few  weeks  later.  Encouraged 
by  this  alleviation,  Giovanni's  mother  urged  him 
to  write  directly  to  the  Due  de  Rovigo,  petitioning 
that  his  sentence  of  imprisonment  might  be  com- 
muted to  one  of  exile,  at  La  Fl^che.  This  was 
unconditionally  refused.  Napoleon,  who  boasted 
of  having  introduced  into  Rome  a  judicial  system 
which  precluded  the  smallest  possibility  of  partiality 
or  injustice,  was  inflicting  on  a  Roman  citizen  a 
severe  imprisonment,  without  trial,  without  defined 
limit,  an  imprisonment  which  might  well  have 
proved  life-long  had  not  he  who  imposed  it  him- 
self reached  the  extreme  limit  set  for  him  by 
Divine  Providence,  and  beyond  which  he  was 
nevermore  to  exercise  his  own  will. 

But  for  those  who  loved  Giovanni  hope  suddenly 
rose  high.  News  had  come  of  a  reconciliation 
between  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor. 


THE  "NEW  CONCORDAT"  247 

On  the  31st  of  January  Cunegonda  writes: 
"  In  your  letter  of  the  loth,  my  dear  Giovanni " 
(the  letter  must  have  echoed  the  sentiments  of 
the  authorities,  to  have  been  permitted  to  travel 
so  fast !)  *'  you  beg  me  to  speak  no  more  of  my 
hopes  for  your  speedy  liberation.  At  any  other 
time  I  would  have  obeyed  you,  but  to-day  these 
hopes  are  too  well  confirmed  to  keep  me  from 
communicating  them.  The  happy  news  of  a  new 
Concordat  between  our  Holy  Father  and  the 
Emperor  seems  to  promise  the  accomplishment 
of  our  desires  ;  so  hope,  my  very  dear  one,  hope  ! 
I  trust  that  the  hope  I  now  bring  you  will  not 
prove  unfavourable  to  your  health,  for  indeed  it 
rests  on  solid  foundations  ;  you  will  agree  with 
me  on  that  point — and  I  begin  to  breathe  again. 
Be  sure  that  I  shall  neglect  nothing  to  obtain  this 
grace — it  is  too  close  to  my  heart.  My  sister 
writes  that  the  Cardinals  who  were  imprisoned  at 
Vincennes  have  already  been  set  free,  as  well  as 
Monsignor  de  Gregorio  and  the  Pere  Fontane, 
and  that  orders  have  been  sent  to  Fenestrelle  to 
bring  Cardinal  Pacca  to  Paris.  That  is  all  I  know, 
for  the  moment." 

The  "  New  Concordat !  "  The  words  mark 
the  saddest  of  all  the  sad  pages  of  the  life  of 
Pius  VII,  and,  one  cannot  but  think,  the  darkest 
in  the  record  of  Napoleon.  The  Emperor,  as 
every  one  knows,  was  threatening  the  Church  with 
a    Schism    of   the    West   which   would    have    been 


248  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

more  far-reaching  in  its  direful  consequences  than 
any  that  had  gone  before.  The  ambassadors 
whom  he  selected  to  lay  his  terms  before  the 
Holy  Father  allowed  themselves  to  be  terrified 
into  submission  by  the  violence  of  his  threats, 
not  perceiving  that  this  very  violence  betrayed  an 
intense  anxiety  to  come  to  an  understanding.  He 
felt  not  only  that  the  moment  had  arrived  when 
it  would  be  to  his  advantage  to  put  an  end  to 
the  damaging  spectacle  presented  to  the  world  by 
the  imprisonment  of  an  aged  and  saintly  Pontiff 
and  all  the  most  respected  and  influential  members 
of  his  ecclesiastical  Court ;  but,  still  more  forcibly, 
that  he  could  never  overcome  the  stubborn  opposi- 
tion of  the  Roman  people  until  he  should  be,  in 
appearance,  at  least,  reconciled  with  the  Pope. 
He  wished  for  peace  ;  and,  expecting  the  terms 
to  be  discussed  and  to  some  extent  modified,  he 
laid  them  down  with  a  completeness  and  arrogance 
which  one  fancies  he  was  far  from  expecting  to 
see  satisfied.  He  chose  his  ambassadors  well. 
The  four  Cardinals,  Doria,  RufFo,  Dugnani,  and 
de  Bayane  were  men  of  timid  dispositions,  and 
were  convinced  that  the  Emperor  meant  what  he 
said,  and  they  exaggerated  the  import  of  his 
threats  in  repeating  them  to  Pius  VII,  so  that 
Napoleon  himself  must  have  been  secretly  surprised 
at  the  result. 

On  January  25,  at  Fontainebleau,  the  Pope,  worn 
out,  ill,  vanquished  more  by   the  entreaties  of  his 


NAPOLEON'S  STRATEGY  249 

friends  than  the  fear  of  his  enemy,  yielded  so 
far  as  to  allow  his  signature  to  be  extorted — no 
other  word  suits  the  case — for  the  plan  of  a 
Concordat,  which,  it  was  clearly  stated,  could  not 
come  into  force  until  approved  and  ratified  by 
the  whole  of  the  Sacred  College.  Until  that 
ratification  should  have  taken  place,  all  the  parties 
to  the  proposition  were  bound  over  to  maintain 
complete  secrecy  in  regard  to  it.  By  the  terms 
of  this  fatal  document  the  Pope  renounced  his 
temporal  power  and  obliged  himself  to  reside  in 
France  or  wherever  the  Emperor  might  wish  to 
send  him. 

Napoleon,  delighted  with  his  victory,  immediately 
set  at  liberty  the  Cardinals  and  Bishops  detained  in 
his  various  prisons.  Then,  reflecting  that  their 
representations  might  induce  Pius  VII  to  change  his 
mind — and  sure,  moreover,  that  the  approval  of  the 
Sacred  College  of  Cardinals,  on  which  the  legality  of 
the  agreement  was  to  depend,  could  never  be  ob- 
tained— he  made  one  of  those  coups  de  main  for 
which  the  Bonapartes  are  famous ;  he  flung  his 
promises  of  secrecy  to  the  winds  and  published  the 
text  of  the  Concordat  entire,  stating  that  it  was 
already  agreed  to  unconditionally  by  the  Holy  See. 
The  Chancellor  Cambacer^s  read  it  aloud  to  the 
Legislative  Body,  the  newspapers  published  it  in  full, 
salvos  of  artillery  informed  the  people  that  peace 
was  concluded,  and  Napoleon  ordered  Te  Deums  to 
ht  ^urig  in  all  the  churches  to   celebrate  the  happy 


250  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

event.  Wise  people  said  little  ;  many,  on  reading 
the  published  text,  believed  it  to  be  a  forgery ;  others 
were  convinced  that  the  Pope's  consent  had  been 
extorted  by  force,  and  thus  rendered  entirely  illegal. 
All  waited,  eagerly  or  anxiously,  according  to  their 
dispositions,  for  what  would  happen  next. 

Meanwhile  the  unfortunate  Pontiff,  torn  with 
remorse  at  having  even  conditionally  acceded  to  the 
Emperor's  outrageous  demands,  fell  into  a  state  of 
such  despairing  melancholy  that  for  several  days  he 
could  not  nerve  himself  to  celebrate  Mass.  He 
accused  himself  of  betraying  his  trust,  forsaking  his 
sheep,  delivering  the  Patrimony  of  Peter  into  the 
hands  of  the  spoiler.  The  Cardinals  Pacca  and 
Consalvi,  who  flew  to  his  side  the  moment  they  came 
out  of  prison,  had  to  use  a  gentle  violence  to  draw 
him  once  more  to  the  Altar  which  he  said  he  had 
betrayed.  The  sustaining  presence  of  these  two 
faithful  friends  roused  him  at  last  from  his  despair. 
It  was  not  enough  to  repent ;  he  must  undo  the 
harm  he  had  so  unwillingly  done.  He  must  retract 
publicly.  To  this  end  he  began  to  compose  a 
manifesto,  every  word  of  which  he  submitted  to  the 
Cardinals  and  Bishops  who  were  near  at  hand.  But 
all  this  while  he  was  under  strict  military  surveil- 
lance, and  it  was  exceedingly  diflkult  to  treat  of  such 
an  important  matter  under  the  watchful  eyes  of  the 
chief  jailer,  Colonel  Lagorse,  who  had  the  strictest 
orders  from  the  Emperor  to  prevent  the  Pope  from 
touching  in  any  way  on  public  affairs  in  his  inter- 


THE   POPE'S  MANIFESTO  251 

views  with  the  prelates  until  Napoleon  himself 
should  grant  permission  for  him  to  do  so.  The 
strictest  prohibition  of  all  regarded  Cardinal  Di 
Pietro,  of  whose  influence  the  Emperor  stood  in 
such  fear  that  his  first  words  after  obtaining  the 
Pope's  signature  to  the  Concordat  were,  '*  Now  that 
Cardinal  Di  Pietro  is  coming,  I  suppose  you  will 
instantly  go  and  confess  to  him  !  " 

But  the  holy  Cardinals  and  Bishops  were  too 
astute  for  the  fierce  Colonel.  They  were  not  in 
the  least  afraid  of  Napoleon,  and  the  preparation  of 
the  manifesto  went  on  quietly  and  carefully,  as 
Cardinal  Pacca  relates  in  his  Memoirs  : 

*'  In  the  morning,  after  the  Pope  had  returned 
from  Mass,  Cardinals  Di  Pietro  and  Consalvi  entered 
his  apartment  and  passed  him  the  sheet  which  he  had 
written  the  day  before.  He  then  continued  to  work 
for  a  little.  At  half- past  four  I  went  to  see  him,  and 
sometimes  he  added  a  few  lines  to  what  he  had 
already  done  in  the  morning.  Then  I,  slipping  the 
notes  and  his  manuscript  under  my  robe,  took  the 
papers  to  the  house  where  Cardinal  Pignatelli  was 
lodging,  and  from  which  they  were  returned  to  the 
Palace  (to  Di  Pietro  or  Consalvi)  by  a  sure  hand  the 
next  morning." 

All  these  precautions  were  necessary  to  prevent 
Lagorse  from  discovering  that  the  Pope  was  pre- 
paring some  document  of  importance  and  also  to 
have  none  of  the  papers  left  in  the  Palace,  where 
he  might  make  some  secret  raid  of  inspection  during 


252  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

the  night.  Also  it  was  necessary  that  the  Holy 
Father's  advisers  should  be  able  to  consult  together 
and  make  suggestions  or  amendments  on  what  he 
had  written,  and  the  fact  that  Cardinal  Pignatelli 
was  confined  to  his  lodgings  by  illness  gave  him  and 
the  other  prelates,  who  were  allowed  to  visit  him 
freely,  the  opportunity  they  required  for  reflection 
and  discussion.  "  This  went  on  for  several  days,'* 
Cardinal  Pacca  tells  us,  and  when  at  last  the  letter 
was  finished  every  point  of  importance  was  clearly  set 
forth  in  it.  To  justify  his  action  the  Pope  invoked 
the  example  of  one  of  his  predecessors,  Pascal  II, 
who  in  rather  similar  circumstances  retracted  a 
concession  made  to  the  Emperor  Henry  V,  declaring 
it  null  and  void  because  extorted  by  violence. 
Pius  VII,  however,  desiring  to  be  conciliatory, 
declared  himself  ready  to  accede  to  any  terms  which 
his  conscience,  aided  by  the  Council  of  Cardinals, 
would  permit. 

The  Emperor  flew  into  one  of  his  epic  rages 
when  the  letter  reached  him.  He  communicated 
the  contents  at  once  to  the  Privy  Council,  abused 
the  Pope,  whom  he  called  an  "  obstinate  priest," 
and  declared  that  he  would  have  the  heads  of  some 
of  the  prelates  at  Fontainebleau.  There  were  not 
wanting  among  the  imperial  advisers  some  who 
pressed  him  to  follow  the  example  of  Henry  VIII 
of  England  and  at  once  declare  the  independence  of 
the  Church  in  France  ;  but  the  cold  sense  which 
rarely  deserted  Napoleon  made  him  brusquely  reject 


TREACHERY  OF  NAPOLEON     253 

the  impolitic  proposition.  Instead  it  was  agreed 
that  the  initial  violence  should  be  supported  by  a 
particularly  black  piece  of  treachery.  The  Pope's 
retractation  was  to  be  quietly  suppressed,  and  the 
terms  of  the  already  published  Concordat  further 
published,  rigorously  upheld,  and,  as  soon  as  possible, 
carried  out.  It  all  seemed  perfectly  simple.  But 
Napoleon  did  not  deny  himself  the  pleasure  of 
punishing  those  who  were  responsible  for  his  annoy- 
ance. In  the  dead  of  night  on  April  5,  Colonel 
Lagorse  entered  the  apartment  of  Cardinal  Di 
Pietro,  roused  him  from  his  sleep,  and  handed  him 
over  to  a  delegate  of  the  police,  who  at  once  carried 
him  off  as  a  prisoner  to  Auxerre.  And  from  that 
moment  Pius  VII  and  the  Cardinals  who  remained 
in  Paris  became  more  than  ever  conscious  that  they 
were  prisoners  too.  New  and  stricter  regulations 
were  ruthlessly  enforced.  Lagorse  had  orders  to 
prevent  all  private  intercourse  with  the  Holy  Father 
or  among  the  prelates  themselves.  It  was  a  per- 
secution of  every  moment,  and  more  than  once  the 
unfortunate  Pontiff  was  forced  to  regret  the  com- 
parative peace  of  his  incarceration  at  Savona. 

Thus  matters  dragged  on  through  1813,  the  Pope 
a  helpless  prisoner  kept  in  complete  ignorance  of 
what  was  taking  place  around  him  in  Paris,  or — a 
far  more  painful  privation — in  his  beloved  Rome. 
Had  he  known  the  condition  of  things  in  France  he 
might  have  drawn  consolation  from  the  heavy  clouds 
which    were     gathering    over    his    enemy's    head. 


254  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

Napoleon  was  losing  his  prestige  ;  Europe,  no 
longer  hypnotised  by  his  marvellous  force  and 
audacity,  was  preparing  to  dismember  his  empire  ; 
he  was  no  longer  constantly  victorious,  and  the 
tremendous  sacrifices  demanded  of  the  French, 
particularly  the  last  levy,  which  had  swept  in 
recruits  of  barely  fifteen  years  of  age,  had  aroused 
universal  indignation.  Napoleon  was  no  longer  sure 
of  himself.     It  was  the  beginning  of  the  end. 

The  pretended  Concordat,  disastrous  as  it  ap- 
peared on  general  grounds,  was,  very  naturally, 
hailed  with  joy  by  some  who  saw  in  it  the  termina- 
tion of  their  own  sufferings.  Cunegonda  Patrizi, 
like  a  loving  wife,  could  only  think  of  one  aspect 
of  it.  To  her  simple  and  honest  mind  it  meant 
the  liberation  of  Giovanni.  She  was  sure  now  that 
any  request  made  by  the  Pope  would  be  instantly 
granted,  and  on  February  7,  just  after  the  publica- 
tion of  the  document,  she  wrote  to  her  hus- 
band : 

"  If  you  have  read  the  Gazette  you  will  have 
seen  .  .  .  that  there  is  an  article  in  the  Concordat 
which  appears  to  touch  you  and  many  other  persons, 
and  in  view  of  this  I  and  all  others  who  have  read 
it  believe  that  you  will  very  shortly  be  set  at 
liberty.  You  said  that  you  thought  I  must  have 
got  tired  of  expecting  you  by  every  post,  and  had 
probably  by  this  time  ceased  to  think  of  your 
coming  at  all.  But  I  assure  you  that  it  is  quite 
the  contrary.       Only    yesterday    I    believed  it  still, 


CARDINAL   PACCA  255 

and  Marianna  "  (the  maid),  ''  who  was  crossing  the 
square  when  the  caleche  arrived,  was  much  agitated 
because  she  made  sure  that  you  were  in  it.  So 
you  see  I  am  not  the  only  one  to  have  faith  in 
your  coming  ;  every  time  the  Chevalier  hears  the 
crack  of  a  whip  he  thinks  it  is  you  !  " 

Fired  with  hope  and  confidence,  the  Marchesa 
wrote  to  her  old  friend  Cardinal  Pacca  : 

''  Since  I  was  not  able  to  have  the  good  fortune 
of  personally  congratulating  Your  Eminence,  may 
I  be  permitted  to  do  so  most  warmly  in  these  few 
lines,  which  must  also  express  all  the  gratitude  I 
feel  for  the  repeated  remembrances  with  which  Your 
Eminence  has  honoured  me  in  my  husband's  letters. 
At  the  same  time  I  will  venture  to  remind  Your 
Eminence  of  that  companion  of  your  imprisonment, 
who  has  now  languished  for  six  months,  immured 
in  the  Chateau  d'lf,  my  many  efforts  for  his 
deliverance  having  all  been  made  in  vain.  This 
is  the  time  when  Your  Eminence  can  show  greater 
kindness  than  ever  to  that  unhappy  man  by  per- 
suading our  Holy  Father  to  ask  for  his  libera- 
tion, and  let  him  add  that  of  our  sons,  the  only 
children  who  were  brought  here  and  consigned " 
(to  the  College)  **  by  the  direct  hand  of  the  Govern- 
ment ^ 

This  was  a  proof  of  Patrizi's  loyalty  to  his 
Sovereign,  which  certainly  contrasted  favourably 
with  the  supine  acquiescence  of  other  Roman 
parents  of  his  own  class.     Cunegonda  continues  : 


256  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

"  No  one  is  better  acquainted  with  all  the  facts 
of  the  case  than  Your  Eminence,  and  from  Don 
Marino,  who  will  have  the  honour  of  presenting 
this  letter  to  you,  you  will  learn  of  all  that  has 
happened  to  me  recently.  So  I  look  to  Your 
Eminence  for  consolation  after  all  these  misfortunes, 
and  1  have  the  firm  trust  that  you  will  not  only 
grant  the  favour  I  ask,  but  plead  for  it  so  zealously 
that  I  shall  soon  experience  the  happy  result,  and 
thus  have  still  new  motives  for  the  gratitude, 
affection,  and  respect  which  I  have  for  so  long 
professed  for  Your  Eminence,  and  which  I  now 
renew. 

"  Remaining  Your  Eminence's  humble,  devoted, 
and  obedient  servant, 

"CUNEGONDA  OF  SaXONY  PaTRIZI." 

Cardinal  Pacca*s  reply,  of  which  the  reasons  are 
clear  to  us,  must  have  puzzled  and  discouraged 
the  poor  Marchesa,  ignorant  of  the  circumstances 
attending  the  publication  of  the  new  Concordat. 
After  the  usual  friendly  greetings  he  says  : 

**  I  would  at  once  have  executed  the  commission 
you  entrusted  to  me  had  I  considered  the  present 
circumstances  propitious  ;  but,  unfortunately,  they 
are  not  that  yet.  Rest  assured,  however,  that  I 
will  take  advantage  of  the  earliest  favourable 
moment.  I  will  not  talk  to  you  of  my  recent 
fellow  prisoner,  for  fear  of  saddening  you  ;  I  will 
only  say  that  1  love  him  as  tenderly  as  a  brother. 


CUNEGONDA'S  EFFORTS  25^ 

"  Let  us  pray  continually  to  God  that  He  will 
reunite  us  where  we  have  lived  in  the  past,  and  yet 
more  that  He  will  deign  to  do  so  in  that  life  where 
there  is  no  sorrow  or  trial  or  bitterness.   .  .  ." 

On  the  same  day  Cunegonda  was  writing  to  her 
husband  : 

^'February  13,  1813. 

**  I  will  do  as  you  wish  and  wait  till  the  end  of 
this  month  before  taking  any  new  steps  to  obtain 
your  liberation.  It  is  too  true  that  the  fifteen  days 
at  the  end  of  which  the  promise  had  been  held  out 
to  me  have  been  unduly  prolonged  ;  God  grant  we 
may  be  nearing  the  end  now  ;  as  for  me,  I  hope  it 
more  and  more,  and  you  can  imagine  how  I  desire 
it  ;  on  Friday  it  will  be  fifteen  months  since  we  were 
separated.  How  much  we  have  suffered  in  that 
time  !  " 

She  draws,  or  pretends  to  draw,  hope  even  from 
Cardinal  Pacca's  letter.  "Barthelmie,  the  Lamb, 
writes  to  me  showing  the  greatest  interest  in  you, 
saying  that  he  loves  you  as  if  you  were  his  brother. 
I  did  not  doubt  it,  indeed  ;  but  his  expressions  were 
very  consoling." 

As  the  Government  were  sedulously  circulating 
the  terms  of  the  Concordat,  which  implied  amnesty 
for  political  prisoners,  the  Marchesa  very  soon 
attacked  the  Cardinal  again  on  the  subject  of  her 
husband,  making  her  excuse  for  writing  her  wish  to 
thank  His  Eminence  for  his  kind  letter. 

17 


258  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

Her  graciously  worded  acknowledgments  only 
thinly  veil  the  real  purpose,  her  feverish  anxiety  to 
have  him  plead  Giovanni's  cause.  Her  surprise  and 
mystification  were  great  when  a  tiny  note,  undated, 
unaddressed,  and  written  in  a  disguised  hand,  was 
secretly  conveyed  to  her.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
Cardinal  were  once  more  undergoing  the  rigours  and 
espionage  of  imprisonment.  Its  contents  show  that 
he  thought  her  plea  would  have  a  better  chance 
coming  directly  from  herself. 

"  Do  not  hesitate  to  address  to  the  Government  a 
petition  demanding  the  full  and  complete  liberty  of 
your  husband,  and  suggest  to  him  that  he  do  the 
same.  .  .  . 

**  The  Lamb." 

The  advice  seems  rash,  and  nothing  that  can  be 
found  in  the  papers  of  the  persons  concerned  appears 
to  justify  it  at  that  moment  ;  but  the  Cardinal  may 
have  had  some  kind  of  verbal  encouragement  from 
one  in  authority  which  led  him  to  give  it.  In  any 
case,  we  know  the  attempt  was  doomed  to  failure. 
Cunegonda's  multiplied  applications  and  petitions 
could  not  have  been  launched  at  a  worse  moment. 
The  Emperor  and  his  underlings  were  too  thoroughly 
out  of  temper  with  the  Holy  Father  to  set  at  large 
one  of  his  most  ardently  devoted  subjects  just  then. 
But  Cunegonda  was  incorrigible.  No  disillusion 
discouraged  her  for  long,  and  her  enthusiastic  trust- 


PATRIZrS  LIFE   IN   PRISON  259 

fulness  came,  very  naturally,  to  add  pang  after  pang 
to  the  sorrows  of  the  lonely  prisoner  in  the 
Chateau  d'If. 

We  get  a  pathetic  glimpse  of  him  from  time  to 
time.  He  had  been  shut  up  in  his  room  for  three 
whole  months  when  he  received  permission  to  go  out 
and  walk  about  the  fortifications. 

*'  A  small  consolation  !  "  he  exclaims  in  his  journal. 
The  monotony  of  his  existence  must  have  been  fear- 
fully wearing,  for  he  says  later  that  this  incident  was 
the  only  new  thing  that  happened  during  nine 
months  of  his  imprisonment.  He  tried  to  shorten 
the  unending  days  by  study  and  some  literary  work, 
one  item  being  the  translation  into  Italian  verse — 
and  a  very  fair  one — of  Racine's  tragedy  Bajazet. 
There  are  also  some  original  dramatic  pieces  ;  but 
one  feels  in  all  this  the  lassitude  of  a  brave  mind 
that  occupies  itself  merely  not  to  give  way  to  despair. 
It  was,  after  all,  only  his  deep  religious  faith  that 
supported  him  through  this  dreary  period  and 
enabled  him,  deprived  of  all  outward  exercises  of 
piety — for  the  celebration  of  Mass  was  forbidden  in 
the  fort — to  still  resign  himself  wholly  to  the  Divine 
Will. 

Had  his  correspondence  with  his  wife  been  less 
cruelly  trammelled  he  would  have  drawn  great 
consolation  from  her  loving,  hopeful  letters.  But 
the  barbarous  restrictions  placed  on  the  interchange 
caused  those  letters  to  reach  him  only  two,  three, 
sometimes    even    seven,    months    after    they    were 


26o  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

written,  and  it  is  small  wonder  that  Giovanni  came 
to  feel  that  he  scarcely  belonged  any  more  to  the 
land  of  the  living.  This  depression  shows  through 
his  fortitude  in  the  letters  he  writes  to  his  wife. 
He  is  longing  to  speak  to  her,  but  he  fears  to 
impose  the  weight  of  his  own  melancholy  on  her 
gallant  spirit  ;  and,  too,  the  knowledge  that  every 
word  will  be  read  by  hostile  eyes  before  it  is  allowed 
to  reach  the  person  addressed  is  anything  but  an 
inspiring  factor  in  correspondence. 

With  himself  in  his  Journal  and  Memoirs  he  can 
be  quite  frank,  and  one  gets  a  very  graphic  idea  of 
his  circumstances.  Certain  regulations  were  bitterly 
humiliating  to  the  noble  and  the  gentleman,  how- 
ever the  Christian  in  him  might  strive  to  regard 
them. 

"  On  the  23rd  of  May,"  he  writes  (18 13),  "  there 
came  to  the  fort  the  Count  Thibeaudeau,  Prefect 
of  the  Department  of  Bouches-du-Rhone,  with  the 
two  Privy  Councillors  Appelins  and  Fort.  These 
last  had  been  sent  from  Paris  to  make  the  annual 
visit  to  the  state  prisons,  a  visit  which  was  omitted 
last  year.  I  was  called,  like  the  rest  of  my  colleagues 
here,  into  their  presence,  and  had  to  answer  their 
questions  as  to  my  name,  age,  my  country,  my 
status,  etc.,  etc.  They  asked  if  I  was  married,  if 
I  had  children,  whether  these  were  boys  or  girls, 
and  what  was  the  age  of  the  eldest.  They  ended 
by  asking  me  where  my  sons  were,  and  1,  having 
answered   all  of  the  other  questions,   replied    that 


THE  FORT   BOMBARDED  261 

two  of  them  were  at  La  Fleche,  having  been  seized 
and  placed  there.  Then  I  was  asked  if  I  had  been 
arrested  in  Rome,  and  if  I  had  been  in  prison  at 
Fenestrelle,  and  the  Privy  Councillors  said  that  if 
I  had  complaints  to  make  or  petitions  to  present 
they  would  see  that  these  should  reach  the  Emperor. 

*'  I  replied  that  many  applications  had  been  made 
for  me  in  vain  by  other  persons,  and  I  asked  that, 
if  I  was  not  to  be  set  at  liberty,  I  might  be  allowed 
to  return  to  my  former  prison  at  Fenestrelle,  where 
I  had  the  advantage  of  being  with  my  compatriots  ; 
and  I  added  that,  since  I  was  in  any  case  a  prisoner, 
the  authorities  could  just  as  well  keep  me  in  one 
place  as  the  other." 

Some  more  perfectly  futile  questions  followed, 
and  Patrizi  returned  to  his  cell,  congratulating  him- 
self, one  imagines,  on  having  kept  his  temper  through 
the  interrogatory.  But  that  day,  at  sunset,  he  and 
the  other  prisoners  had  at. least  the  diversion  of  real 
excitement,  for  an  English  vessel,  coming  very  close 
in,  opened  fire  on  the  fort  with  a  fierce  cannonade, 
and  the  fort  instantly  touched  up  its  mouldering 
guns  and  answered  the  compliment.  The  exchange 
of  shots  continued  for  about  an  hour  in  quite  a 
lively  fashion.  The  result  of  this  affair  was  the 
capture  of  a  mercantile  vessel  by  the  English  in  the 
port  of  Marseilles  ;  but  it  was  almost  immediately 
set  free,  being  furnished  with  papers  which  proved 
that  it  was  not  proper  booty  of  war. 

"  On  the  22nd  of  May  the  representatives  of  the 


262  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

Imperial  Procurator-General  came  to  the  fort  to 
verify  the  list  of  the  prisoners.  They  asked  me 
my  name  and  nothing  more." 

The  year  1813  was  to  be  a  sadder  one  yet  for 
Giovanni,  and  marked  by  an  irreparable  loss.  His 
father's  health  had  long  been  failing,  and  the  recent 
trials  and  anxieties  had  greatly  enfeebled  him.  So 
early  as  May  of  the  year  before,  the  grief  of  Gio- 
vanni's imprisonment  had  brought  on  an  illness 
which  threatened  to  be  mortal,  and  under  this  im- 
pression he  had  written  what  he  thought  might 
possibly  be  his  last  letter  to  the  dearly  loved  son, 
who  was  never  absent  from  his  thoughts. 

"Rome,  May  12,  181 2. 

"My  most  dear  Son, 

"  Aboccultis    meis    libera    me    Dne,    et    ab 
alienis  parce  servo  tuo."  * 

*'  Here  is  a  fine  beginning  for  the  letter  of  a 
father  to  a  son,  particularly  when  he  has  not  written 
to  him  for  so  long,  except  in  postscripts  to  your 
mother's  letters  ! 

"  But  I  believe  you  will  find  it  right  and  just,  for 
the  reasons  which  I  will  now  expose  to  you. 

"  I  believe  that  every  man,  and  more  especially 
the  father  of  a  family,  when  the  passing  of  the  years 
brings  him  near  the  last  great  step,  should  try  to 
repair  the  scandal  he  may  have  given,   and    should 

*  "  Deliver  me  from  my  secret  faults,  O  Lord,  and  forgive  Thy 
servant  his  errors!" 


I 

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1:1 
i 

^tr 

PANCBCVS  PATWTOS:^*^^  QVl  ET  NART^ 
f       MONIPEI            KJf^Ki  r  MARCHK) 

i                                                                                                                                 -         -;.. 

i  vARCHESE     FRANCESCO     NARO     FATRlZi. 

The  Father  of  Giovanni. 


THE   ELDER   PATRIZI  263 

ask  God  for  grace  to  be  able  to  do  so.  This  grace 
I  have  asked  and  still  ask  constantly. 

"  I  am  old,  you  are  far  away  from  me,  I  do  not 
know  how  long  that  absence  will  last,  and  conse- 
quently I  do  not  know  whether  you  will  be  at  my 
bedside  in  my  last  illness  as  I  should  wish  ;  so  it  is 
right  that  now,  when  for  a  few  days,  through  the 
mercy  of  God,  I  am  suffering  less  from  my  infir- 
mities and  the  oppression  of  my  spirit,  I  should 
anticipate  the  fulfilment  of  this  duty  to  you,  and  I 
propose  to  do  so  in  this  present  letter. 

"  By  the  grace  of  God,  I  think  I  have  given  no 
direct  scandal  to  you  or  to  others  ;  *  nil  mihi  con- 
scius  sum,  sed  in  hoc  non  justificatus  sum '  *  ;  but 
indirectly,  who  can  say  how  much  ?  With  my 
whole  heart  I  ask  pardon  for  it  of  the  Divine 
Majesty,  and  I  beseech  that  no  one  may  have  to 
suffer  misery  through  my  fault  ;  God  grant  it. 

'' .  .  .  To  speak  of  other  things  .  .  .  your  Cos- 
tantino  is  as  good  as  possible,  and  provides  all  our 
amusement  at  the  dinner-table,  and  he  is  my  best 
solace  when  he  comes  into  my  room  after  his  hours 
of  study  and  spiritual  occupation.  He  opens  every 
book  he  finds,  so  it  seems  as  if  he  would  grow  up 
into  a  great  literary  man.  Joking  apart,  he  is  a 
good  child,  and  I  as  well  as  you  must  thank  God 
for  the  good  characters  of  your  children.  May  He 
confirm  that  which  He  has  worked  in  us  !  " 

*  "My  conscience  does   not  reproach  me,  but  not  for  that  am 
I  justified." 


264  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  the  Marchese's 
condition  grew  rapidly  worse.  On  December  2, 
shortly  before  his  death,  he  dictated  what  he  knew 
would  be  his  last  letter  to  his  son  (in  order  to  con- 
form to  the  prison  regulations  at  Chateau  d'lf  it  was 
written  in  French)  : 

"My  very  dear  Son, 

"  May  the  Father  of  Mercies  and  the  God 
of  all  consolation  be  ever  blessed  and  praised ! 
You  suffer,  in  this  present  life,  but  you  are 
acquiring  at  the  same  time  great  merit  for  the 
life  to  come.  If  you  have  not  quite  the  patience 
of  Job,  at  least  you  have  enough  to  ensure  the 
salvation  of  your  soul,  for  the  good  God  permits 
us  to  be  tempted  to  prove  our  virtue,  but  never 
beyond  the  limit  of  our  strength.  The  depriva- 
tion of  the  Angels'  Bread,  which  so  deeply  afflicts 
you,  can  be  and  certainly  is  a  source  of  merit, 
and  the  ardour  with  which  you  so  eagerly  desire 
it  and  the  spiritual  Communion,  which  you  can 
renew  as  often  as  you  like,  will  take  the  place 
of  actual  participation  in  the  Sacrament.  The 
penitent  Mary  of  Egypt,  during  the  twenty-three  or 
twenty-five  years  which  she  passed  in  the  desert, 
only  received  Holy  Communion  at  the  time  of  her 
death — yet  she  is  a  saint,  and  even  very  famous  in 
the  Church.  Courage,  then,  dear  son  ;  endure  all 
that  the  good  God  asks  of  you,  and  keep  ever  before 
your  eyes  the  great  maxim  that  we  suffer  here  for 


A  FAREWELL  LETTER  265 

only  a  short  time,  while  that "  (happiness)  "  which 
awaits  us  is,  God  helping,  eternal. 

"  As  for  examples,  your  good  mother  has  given 
you  excellent  ones  to  follow  ;  but,  alas  !  A^e  will 
not  speak  of  mine.  I  fear  to  have  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  have  given  you  none  that  you  should 
imitate.  I  wrote  you  this  on  the  12th  of  May,  18 12, 
and  I  pray  in  the  bitterness  of  my  heart  that  the 
good  God  will  forgive  me  all  and  accept  the 
sacrifice  of  my  heart  united  to  the  infinite  merits  of 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  Add  your  fervent 
prayers  to  mine.  .  .  . 

"  You  have  chosen  an  excellent  author — Thomas 
a  Kempis !  What  a  beautiful  book,  and  how 
helpful  it  will  be  to  you  in  your  solitude !  If  it 
arouses  in  you  the  desire  to  approach  the  Holy 
Table,  and  this  unsatisfied  desire  disquiets  you, 
you  must  not  value  it  the  less  for  that,  for  it  will 
be  to  you  the  occasion  of  gaining  new  merit.  .  .  . 
Your  mother  blesses  you  and  embraces  you  ;  Cos- 
tantine  kisses  your  hands  and  asks  for  your  bless- 
ing. Your  aunt  and  your  sisters  send  most  loving 
greeting.  .  .  .  The  Secretary  does  the  same.  I 
embrace  thee  with  all  my  heart  and  bless  thee,  for 
I  am  thy  loving  Father, 

**  Francesco." 

The  last  words  are  written  in  his  own  hand  ; 
the  rest  was  apparently  dictated  to  Don  Joseph  dc 
Ligne,  the  children's  tutor. 


266  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

Giovanni  received  this  letter,  written  on  Decem- 
ber 2,  some  days  after  his  father's  death,  which 
took  place  in  January  1814.  The  prisoner  could 
not  even  have  the  comfort  of  writing  to  his  wife 
in  this  great  sorrow,  for  he  feared  that  she  might 
still  not  have  received  news  of  their  loss,  and  felt 
that  it  would  cause  her  less  of  a  shock  to  learn  it 
from  her  mother-in-law  than  to  be  told  of  it  by 
himself.  But  in  truth  the  sad  announcement  had 
arrived  at  La  Fl^che  sooner  than  it  had  at  Mar- 
seilles ;  and  Cunegonda  was  also  afraid  to  write  of 
it,  wishing  that  her  dear  prisoner  might  remain  in 
ignorance  of  his  bereavement  as  long  as  possible. 
At  last,  in  a  letter  written  on  March  13,  she  gave 
voice,  though  still  restrainedly,  to  her  feelings  : 

"  You  dare  not  write  openly  to  me  about  your 
father's  death,  because  you  fear  I  may  not  yet  have 
been  informed  of  it.  What  new  kind  of  torture  is 
this,  to  be  kept  two  or  three  months  in  ignorance 
of  something  which  touches  us  both  so  closely  ! 
One  has  to  fall  back  on  saying,  *  God  wills  it  so,' 
otherwise  our  human  weakness  could  not  bear  it  ; 
but  He  gives  His  aid  in  the  measure  in  which  it 
is  needed.  So  let  us  have  ever-increasing  confidence 
in  His  infinite  and  all-powerful  goodness.  .  .  . 
Continue,  my  well-beloved  Giovanni,  to  seek  your 
only  consolation  in  raising  your  thoughts  to  Heaven. 
...  As  long  as  I  know  that  you  have  recourse 
to  this,  I  shall  fear  nothing  for  you  !  " 

Cunegonda's  words  were  notably  verified  at  this 


HOLY  COMMUNION  267 

moment,  for  the  loving  Providence  of  God,  on 
whose  assistance  she  counted  for  her  husband  in 
his  grief,  sent  him  that  for  which  he  had  been 
longing  so  earnestly,  an  opportunity  of  approaching 
the  Sacraments.  Two  good  priests,  one  French 
and  one  Italian,  were  unexpectedly  transferred  from 
the  prison  of  Compiano  to  that  of  the  Chateau  d'lf, 
and  obtained  from  the  Minister  of  Police  the  per- 
mission to  celebrate  Mass.  The  first  occasion  on 
which  they  did  so  was  Easter  Day  (April  10),  and 
Giovanni  Patrizi  was  able  to  assist  at  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  and  receive  Holy  Communion,  after  being 
deprived  of  that  inestimable  benefit  for  two  years 
and  two  days. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

We  must  retrace  our  steps  a  little  in  order  to 
follow  the  thread  of  Cunegonda*s  life  at  La  Fl^che 
during  her  husband's  second  year  in  prison.  Now 
and  then  some  friend  or  relative  came  to  visit  her, 
or  the  parents  of  some  of  her  sons*  companions 
at  the  school  passed  a  few  days  in  the  dull  little 
country  town.  In  May  her  brother-in-law,  Prince 
Altieri,  brought  a  breath  from  her  own  world, 
which  must  have  been  refreshing  to  the  lonely 
lady.  Her  faithful  companion,  the  "  incomparable 
friend,"  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani,  was  apparently 
as  silent  as  he  was  devoted,  and  her  letters  give 
us  glimpses  of  the  appalling  monotony  of  their 
existence  when  the  boys  were  shut  up  in  the 
college.  She  always  shows  her  relief  when  some 
real  incident  has  occurred  with  which  she  can 
enliven  her  husband  in  his  distant  solitude.  With- 
out possessing  a  particle  of  malice,  Cunegonda  was 
a  keen  observer  of  human  nature,  and  her  curt 
yet  graphic  descriptions  of  people  bring  the 
subjects  of  them  very  vividly  before  our  eyes. 

Of  Altieri    she   writes  :    "■  He   arrived   here  the 
other  night  with   his   son  Auguste,    all  his  rcpre- 

268 


PRINCE  ALTIERI  269 

sentations  and  petitions  to  have  the  child  dispensed 
from  coming  to  this  school,  on  account  of  his 
delicate  health,  having  been  made  in  vain.  I  found 
the  Prince  looking  much  aged,  and  Auguste  is 
thinner  than  before — if  that  was  possible  !  I  hope 
my  sister"  (Princess  Altieri)  *'will  come  and  establish 
herself  here  too.  ...  I  never  told  you  that  her 
eldest  son  was  sent  back  to  her  by  the  Emperor's 
order,  at  the  beginning  of  this  year,  on  account  of 
his  health.*' 

The  Marchesa    learnt    from    Prince  Altieri    that 
her  eldest   sister,  the  Duchesse    d'Esclignac,  whom 
she  had  not  seen  for  twenty-three  years,  had  come 
to  Paris,  and  was  arranging  to  pay  her  a  visit    at 
La  Fl^che.     They  had  parted  in  haste  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolution — what  memories  they  would 
call  up  together,  what  confidences    they   would   be 
able    to    exchange !     "  With    Altieri,"    Cunegonda 
writes,  "  came  Count  Baglioni  (an  Umbrian  noble- 
man) to  visit  all  the  boys  who  were  brought  here 
from  Perugia,  and  of  whom    a    large    number  are 
his  own  nephews.     He  passed  the  greater    part  of 
his  time  while  here  in  sleeping  ;  in  the  day,  in  the 
evening,  he  falls  asleep  with  a  facility  which  I  have 
never  seen  in  any  one  else.     If  he  has  not  spoken 
for  a  minute  or  so  you  may  be  almost  sure  he  is 
asleep,  and  since  Altieri  (as  you  know)  never  wants 
to  sleep,  they  form  an  amusing  contrast." 

Then  the  Marchesa  hears  from  the  Patrizi  Steward 
in  Siena  that  the  Bailli  Ruspoli  has  left  that  place 


270  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

suddenly,  in  the  night,  without  telling  any  one 
where  he  was  going,  but  saying  mysteriously  that 
he  had  a  long  journey  before  him  !  Towards  the 
end  of  May  the  good  old  gentleman  appeared  in 
Paris,  and  announced  his  intention  of  travelling 
sixty  miles  farther  to  visit  his  beloved  niece  and 
her  children  at  La  Fl^che.  But  to  his  and  her 
disappointment  some  very  urgent  question  relating 
to  the  Order  of  Malta  demanded  his  instant  pre- 
sence elsewhere,  and  he  had  to  leave  France  without 
carrying  out  his  intention.  At  the  end  of  June 
three  of  the  five  daughters  of  Prince  Xavier  of 
Saxony  were  at  last  reunited  for  a  short  time,  and 
great  was  Cunegonda's  joy  when  she  and  Lise 
(the  Duchesse  d'Esclignac)  and  Marianna  Altieri 
could  '*  talk  out,"  as  women  love  to  do,  all  big  and 
little  things  that  lay  nearest  their  hearts.  The  two 
weeks  they  passed  together  were  the  least  sad  part  of 
Cunegonda's  exile. 

On  July  4,  1813,  she  writes  to  Giovanni : 
*'  My  sisters  are  here  since  last  Thursday.  I 
found  Lise  much  altered,  but  still  very  sweet  and 
gay.  We  take  long  walks  together ;  that  is  the 
only  diversion  I  can  offer  her  here  ;  but,  as  she  does 
not  care  about  worldly  amusements,  she  does  not  seem 
bored.  She  has  brought  Ernest,  the  youngest  of  her 
boys,  who  is  three  months  older  than  our  Xavier  ; 
he  is  big  and  strong  for  his  age,  but  nothing  like 
Xavier,  who  is  already  much  taller  and  stronger  than 
he.     Ernest  arrived    here   pretending    that    he  was 


CUNEGONDA'S  VISITORS  271 

Lise's  courier,  and  told  us  that  she  would  come  in 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  that  I  was  to  go  and  wait 
for  her  at  her  house.  As  I  did  not  know  the  boy,  I 
believed  him  at  first  ;  but  after  a  little  it  struck  me  that 
the  pretended  courier  might  be  my  nephew,  and  I 
asked  him  where  my  sister  had  left  her  son  Ernest  ? 
He  smiled  and  said  she  was  bringing  him  with  her, 
and  then  I  understood.  Lise  is  longing  to  make 
your  acquaintance,  and  I  am  sorry  she  is  to  stay  here 
such  a  short  time." 

Always  the  hope  that  Giovanni  would  come!  The 
load  of  disappointment  and  weariness  settled  very 
heavily  on  Cunegonda  after  her  sisters  had  left  her  ; 
but,  as  she  tells  Giovanni,  she  had  become  so  accus- 
tomed to  trouble  that  it  would  have  seemed  to  her 
quite  unnatural  to  have  any  lasting  pleasure  or  con- 
solation now. 

From  August  onwards  the  correspondence  be- 
comes sadder  and  sadder.  Patrizi  was  tortured  by 
having  his  wife's  letters  kept  back  month  after 
month,  and  during  those  cruel  silences  he  was  left 
to  imagine  the  thousand  misfortunes  which  might 
already  have  fallen  on  those  he  loved.  He  wrote 
few  letters  himself  now — it  seemed  almost  useless — 
but  from  those  which  Cunegonda  never  ceased  to 
address  to  him  it  is  easy  to  reconstruct  the  history  of 
this,  the  most  mournful  period  of  their  long  separa- 
tion. In  truth,  after  making  sure  that  he  was  to  be 
immediately  set  at  liberty,  it  finally  became  clear  to 
both  husband  and  wife  that  an   imperious   and  in- 


272  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

exorable  will  had  been  imposed,  and  that  all 
entreaties,  all  attempts  to  change  it,  were  doomed 
to  be  hopeless.  Giovanni  fell  into  such  profound 
mental  prostration  that  he  at  last  told  his  wife  that  it 
would  be  better  for  them  to  give  up  writing  to  each 
other  altogether,  since  the  letters  were  either  never 
delivered  at  all,  or  else  came  so  long  after  they 
were  written  that  they  only  added  to  the  agonies  of 
the  suspense  ;  and  also  that  he  found  it  intolerable 
only  to  treat  of  matters  which  could  pass  the  censor- 
ship of  the  police  when  aching  to  speak  of  things 
infinitely  closer  to  both  their  hearts. 

La  Fl^che  was  anything  but  a  salubrious  resi- 
dence, lying,  as  it  did,  close  to  great  marshes,  which 
spread  the  miasma  of  malaria  over  all  the  district, 
and  in  September  poor  little  Filippo  was  laid  low 
with  Tertian  fever.  The  Marchesa  writes  that 
this  was  regarded  as  an  ordinary  indisposition 
at  La  Fl^che,  and  expresses  her  surprise  at  the 
happy-go-lucky  methods  prevailing  for  the  treat- 
ment of  it. 

"  They  do  not  even  think  of  giving  Pippo 
quinine  !  "  she  exclaims.  '*  Yesterday  they  adminis- 
tered an  emetic  .  .  .  to-morrow  he  is  to  have  an 
infusion  of  bitters,  and  the  fever  will  disappear 
little  by  little  !  Here  they  think  only  unhealthy 
old  persons  can  catch  a  '  pernicious '  fever,  so  they 
very  rarely  give  any  quinine  to  children." 

It  seemed  almost  as  if  the  French  doctors  might 
be  right,  for  a  few  days  later  the  Marchesa  writes 


LIFE  AT  LA  FLECHE  273 

that  the  trouble    seems    to    be    passing.     She    had, 
however,  insisted  on  some  small  doses  of  quinine. 

"  I  hope  Pippo's  fever  is  over,"  she  writes,  "  for 
it  was  due  yesterday  and  did  not  come.  He  had 
only  had  three-eighths  "  (of  a  grain)  "  of  quinine,  and 
that  smelt  of  nothing  but  mould  !  It  shows  the 
difference  of  climate,  for  in  Italy  they  would  have 
made  him  take  at  least  a  grain." 

She  has  but  little  to  relate  to  Giovanni  at  this 
time,  and  tries  to  make  up  for  the  exclusion  of 
her  former  all-absorbing  hopes  of  his  liberation  by 
writing  of  any  small  change  or  incident  that  takes 
place.  In  looking  at  the  long,  beautifully  written 
letters  (for  Gondina  was  one  of  those  people  who 
put  the  touch  of  exquisite  care  on  everything  they 
do)  one  feels  that  the  "  miraculous  hands "  must 
often  have  ached  with  weariness — that  only  the 
valiant  woman's  heart  gave  her  courage  to  write 
at  all !  She  tells  of  little  indispositions  of  the 
children,  of  making  acquaintance  at  La  Fleche  with 
the  Duchess  of  Bracciano  (Bracciano  was  held  by 
the  Odescalchi  at  that  time)  whom  she  describes  as 
"  a  very  good  sort  of  woman,  who  asked  after 
you  with  much  interest"  ;  she  tells  of  Romans 
who  came  from  time  to  time  to  see  their  boys  at 
the  school,  of  births  and  marriages  among  their 
friends,  now  and  then  of  some  strange  dream  she 
has  had.  She  scarcely  knows  what  to  write  ;  life 
is  very  grey  and  sad,  and  now  and  then,  in  spite 
of  all  her  courage,  she  nearly  breaks  down.  Only 
18 


274  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

nearly,  for  her  faith  always  triumphs  over  the 
momentary  weakness  in  the  end.     Once  she  writes  : 

**  What  a  comfort  it  would  be  to  you  to  weep 
on  the  heart  of  some  one  who  could  understand 
and  sympathise  with  your  sorrows !  I  can  do  that 
sometimes  ;  but  more  often  my  tears  flow  in  soli- 
tude, and  I  find  great  easing  so,  because,  although 
apparently  alone,  I  offer  the  tears  I  shed  in  the 
Presence  of  the  only  true  Consoler." 

The  autumn  vacations  brought  a  little  more 
brightness  into  her  life  and  that  of  the  two  boys.  She 
had  had  a  letter  from  Giovanni  in  which  he  told 
her  he  had  dreamt  he  was  a  Cardinal. 

"  Your  letter  of  the  20th  made  us  all  laugh 
at  the  curious  dream  you  describe  ;  I  was  quite 
pleased  to  find  myself,  in  spite  of  your  new  rank, 
recognised  as  alive,  since  you  say  I  am  to  address 
you  as  *  Eminence '  !  We,  too,  often  amuse  our- 
selves by  recounting  our  dreams.  At  least,  it  makes 
us  laugh — and  then  it  is  so  hard  to  find  anything 
to  talk  about,  especially  when  I  am  here  alone  with 
the  Chevalier.  Just  now  I  am  so  happy  as  to  have 
my  children  with  me,  and,  as  you  know,  the 
silliest  little  thing  is  enough  to  interest  them  and 
set  them  chattering  !  "  In  the  same  letter  she 
speaks  of  the  portraits  that  Giovanni  had  asked 
for,  many  months  earlier.  **  You  reproach  me  with 
my  credulity  which  prevented  me  from  having  them 
taken  and  sent  to  you,  as  you  wished.  I  have 
reproached  myself  many  times  since  then  !  " 


PATRIZI   IS  HOME-SICK  275 

In  October  Giovanni  obtained  the  Commandant's 
permission  to  have  a  little  dinner  in  honour  of  his 
mother's  name-day. 

''  I  was  very  pleased,"  Cunegonda  writes,  "  to  learn 
that  you  had  celebrated  your  mother's  birthday  with 
some  of  your  companions  in  misfortune,  and  I  am 
not  surprised  when  you  tell  me  that  your  tears  fell 
when  her  health  was  drunk  !  " 

The  little  relaxation  at  the  prison  was  followed 
by — perhaps,  caused — new  strictness  to  be  exercised 
towards  the  Marchese  and  his  companions.  Orders 
came  to  forbid  the  prisoners  to  take  any  more  walks 
round  the  bastions,  and  the  deprivation  of  even 
this  slight  solace  was  very  keenly  felt.  Giovanni 
began  to  feel  more  acutely  than  ever  the  sad 
isolation  of  his  lot,  and  spoke  in  his  letters  to  his 
wife  of  the  constant  longing  for  home  and  family 
which  tormented  him,  and  which  she  felt  too, 
although  all  her  thoughts  seem  to  have  been 
for  him. 

"  I  know  too  well,"  she  writes,  "  that  our  union 
has  not  been  a  source  of  happiness  for  you,  although 
in  your  goodness  you  say  that  it  has."  (Here  she 
seems  to  be  referring  to  Napoleon's  marked 
hostility  to  her  own  family,  which  she  believed 
had  been  the  real  cause  of  many  of  her  husband's 
misfortunes.)  *'  God  give  me  grace  to  make  it  true 
in  the  future  !  .  .  .  You  had  a  moment  of  consola- 
tion in  seeing  the  handwriting  of  our  children, 
and  they,   on  their  part,  were  enchanted  yesterday 


276  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

when  they  received  your  reply.  I  can  assure  you 
that  I  have  been,  and  am,  very  satisfied  about  them 
in  every  way,  and  I  hope,  when  you  see  them,  that 
you  will  be  as  pleased  with  them  as  I  am.  I  am 
sure  your  prayers  have  done  much  for  them. 
Xavier  is  already  taller  than  I  am — I  just  reach 
to  his  ear  ;  Pippo,  too,  has  grown,  but  not  much. 
Yes,  most  certainly  I  insist  upon  your  regarding 
me  as  a  Roman  !  I  am,  because  I  have  my  home 
there ;  but  much  more  because  I  love  it  dearly  .  .  . 
for  many  years  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
able  to  regard  it  as  truly  my  own  country.  God 
grant  that  we  may  see  it  very  soon  !  " 

The  year  1 8 14  opened  sadly  enough  for  Cune- 
gonda.  In  January  she  writes  :  ''  Humanly  speak- 
ing, I  am  happier  in  the  night  than  in  the  day,  for 
scarcely  a  night  passes  that  I  do  not  find  myself 
transported  to  Rome.  .  .  .  What  a  sad  kind  of 
pleasure  it  is  to  have  to  be  impatient  for  night  to 
come — to  bring  consolation  in  a  dream  !  " 

She  is  pleasantly  surprised  to  find  that  there  is  a 
circulating  library  at  La  Fl^che,  and  that  '*  for  forty 
sous  a  month  "  she  can  have  '*  as  many  books  *'  as 
she  likes !  Immediately  she  plunges  into  reading. 
*'  It  is  my  only  distraction,"  she  says,  and  at  once 
begins  to  speak  of  Chateaubriand.  "  I  have  never 
read  the  '  G^nie  du  Christianisme  '  ;  but  I  hear  it 
favourably  spoken  of,  and  sometimes  unfavourably. 
The  author  was  Secretary  of  Embassy  at  Rome  in 
the  time  of  Count  Fesch — not  under  the  Consulate. 


CUNEGONDA'S  READING  277 

I  have  just  finished  another  book  by  the  same 
writer,  *  Itineraire  de  Paris  a  Jerusalem  !  *  I  found 
it  extremely  interesting,  not  so  much  for  the  matter 
itself  as  for  the  manner  in  which  it  is  written. 
They  gave  me  after  that  ^  Les  Martyrs  * ;  but,  finding 
that  it  was  merely  a  romance,  I  did  not  read  it.*' 

Cunegonda,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  been 
described  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  as  '  very 
cultured,'  and  the  years  that  followed  had  not  been 
intellectually  idle  ;  capable  of  appreciating  the  best, 
she  had  not  fallen  into  the  modern  error  of  reading 
for  the  '  style '  alone,  that  vain  excuse  offered  by  so 
many  persons  now  for  poring  over  abominations 
presented  in  precious  vessels.  Apart  from  her  un- 
ceasing striving  after  perfection,  she  felt,  at  this 
period  of  her  life,  when  she  was  left  alone  to  face 
terrible  difficulties  and  still  heavier  responsibilities, 
the  necessity  of  strengthening  herself  for  the  conflict 
by  feeding  her  mind  and  heart  with  serious  reading, 
and  she  voluntarily  puts  aside  everything  which 
might  in  her  forlorn  condition,  ever  so  slightly  even, 
savour  of  worldly  vanities. 

The  sweetness  and  humility  of  her  character  are 
very  charmingly  revealed  in  a  letter  a  little  later 
than  the  last.  She  says,  **  For  about  a  month  we 
have  had  here  three  or  four  hundred  Spanish 
prisoners  who  have  been  in  France  for  three  years. 
They  are  excellent  fellows,  and  everybody  likes  them 
because  they  are  so  gentle  and  quiet.  They  work 
to  earn  a  little  money,  and  this  morning  one  of  them 


278  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

brought  me  some  straw  baskets  made  with  great 
delicacy  and  taste.  I  like  to  talk  Italian  to  them,  as 
they  understand  it  better  than  French.  The  other 
day  one  of  them  was  sawing  wood  and  bringing  it 
into  the  house  for  me.  He  told  me  he  had  been 
in  the  army  for  thirty  years,  and  had  served  under 
Carlo  Tercero  "  (Charles  III  of  Spain).  *'  I  did  not 
tell  him  that  the  king  was  my  uncle,  because  that 
seemed  to  me  proud  ;  but  I  am  sure  the  man 
would  have  been  pleased  if  I  had,  for  he  seemed  to 
speak  of  him  with  affection." 

How  did  this  letter  strike  the  Due  de  Rovigo 
when  it  passed  through  his  hands,  coming  from  her 
who  was  called  by  the  police  "  that  arrogant  Saxon 
Princess  '*  ? 

During  this  long,  quiet  period  at  La  Fleche  the 
*  incomparable  friend,'  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani, 
a  man  who  had  the  rare  talent  of  devoting  himself 
to  the  Marchesa,  her  children,  her  interests,  without 
claiming  a  moment  of  her  time,  without  ever  getting 
in  her  way,  always  effacing  himself  but  always  there, 
a  silent,  faithful,  lynx-eyed  guardian,  had  thought 
it  incumbent  upon  him  also  to  improve  his  mind 
and  increase  his  mental  resources  by  prayer  and 
study — Cunegonda  often  speaks  of  him  in  her  letters 
to  Giovanni,  and  says  that  he  is  "always  serene, 
and  utterly  undisturbed  by  the  discomforts  of  a 
small  establishment  and  a  climate  so  different  from 
the  Roman  one."  Before  leaving  home  he  had 
begun  to  write  a  r^sum6  of  Ecclesiastical  History, 


PIPPO  AS  CARTOGRAPHER  279 

and  at  this  he  continued  to  work  regularly  during 
the  whole  two  years  of  absence,  for  five  or  six 
hours  every  day. 

The  love  of  work  is  catching.  When  the  boys 
came  to  their  mother  for  the  holidays  they  invented 
various  occupations  for  themselves.  Filippo  sends 
his  father  a  map  which  he  had  drawn,  and  Patrizi, 
pleased  with  its  execution,  writes  to  his  wife  that  he 
would  like  to  have  the  boy  take  drawing  lessons. 
Cunegonda  replies,  "  If  you  knew  this  enchanting 
spot  you  would  never  have  written  that  I  would  do 
better  to  let  Pippo  copy  some  original  from  the 
'  Beaux  Arts  * ;  it  would  be  difficult — I  fancy  im- 
possible— to  find  such  a  thing  here  !  Besides,  the 
copying  of  the  maps  was  only  done  in  his  hours  of 
recreation  ;  it  amused  him  so  much,  and  I  was 
better  pleased  that  he  should  do  that  than  nothing 
at  all.  My  house  is  so  tiny  that  the  boys  cannot 
even  run  about ;  sometimes  they  go  for  a  few 
minutes  into  the  garden,  but  that,  I  think,  is  hardly 
as  large  as  the  courtyard  of  our  house  in  Rome.'* 

Once  before,  she  had  spoken  frankly  of  the  dull- 
ness and  ugliness  of  La  Fl^che,  where,  as  she  puts  it, 
"  everything  seems  to  be  wanting."  But,  she  adds 
patiently,  ''  Perhaps  my  opinion  of  it  should  not  be 
taken  too  seriously.  I  see  it  only  through  tears.  I 
suffer  here  too  much  in  every  way  to  be  an  impartial 
judge." 

Before  the  end  of  18 13  she  tells  Giovanni  of  the 
vicissitudes   of  various  friends   who   are   serving — 


28o  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

much  against  their  will,  doubtless — in  the  imperial 
army.  **Don  Pompco  Gabrielli  and  Don  Giulio 
Lante  have  been  taken  prisoners  ;  the  former  is 
wounded  in  the  thigh.  Don  Mommo  Odescalchi 
was  at  Hamburg  on  October  i  ;  Don  Camillo 
Ruspoli  is  a  prisoner  of  the  Austrians  at  Prague." 

Among  the  great  names  the  humble  one  of  Mari- 
anna,  the  maid,  is  never  omitted.  She  sends  "  hand- 
kissings  to  the  master,"  but  she  cannot  get  on  at  all 
with  her  French.  Her  vocabulary  is  limited  to 
*'  Oui,  Madame,"  ''  Venez  ici,"  "  Monsu'  Cavalier," 
and  "  Madame  est  sortie  !  "  and  she  is  dying  of 
longing  to  be  in  her  own  country,  where  she  can 
make  people  understand  her  !  "  "  Monsu'  Cavalier  " 
(Giustiniani),  who  had  suffered  at  first  from  the  same 
disabilities  as  poor  Marianna — (how  strangely  it 
strikes  one  now  that  a  man  of  his  position  should 
never  have  taken  the  trouble  to  learn  French  !) — has 
overcome  the  language  with  a  mighty  effort,  chiefly, 
it  would  seem,  in  order  to  be  able  to  write  to  his 
friend  at  the  Chateau  d*If,  where  such  letters  as  were 
passed  at  all  had  to  be  written  in  French.  By 
December  1813  he  acquits  himself  with  much 
credit. 

"  My  very  dear  friend,"  he  writes,  **  Madame, 
your  wife,  reproaches  me  very  justly  for  never  having 
written  you  a  few  lines  in  this  language,  which  is  so 
foreign  to  us,  even  after  your  children  had  already 
succeeded    in   doing   so.     I  blushed  with  shame,  I 


THE  FAITHFUL  GIUSTINIANI  281 

admitted  my  fault,  for  which,  indeed,  I  intended  to 
atone  last  week.  ...  But  what  shall  I  say  to  you  in 
the  conditions  in  which  both  you  and  we  are  at 
present  ?  Simply  that  I  love  you  dearly,  that  you 
are  always  present  in  my  heart,  which  remembers  you 
even  without  my  consent ;  that  is  to  say,  when  I  am 
asleep.  And  then  I  wish  to  recommend  to  you  my 
poor  sister,  for  whose  health,  now  exceedingly  en- 
feebled, I  tremble  continually.  I  beg  you,  my  friend, 
to  offer  fervent  prayers  to  the  good  God  that  He 
will  dispose  all  things  for  the  best  for  her,  and,  when 
you  pray,  remember  her  brother,  who  is  also  more 
yours  in  Jesus  Christ  than  simply  your  very 
affectionate  friend, 

"Lorenzo  GiusTiNiANi." 

As  we  have  seen,  this  year  of  18 14,  which  was, 
indeed,  to  end  all  their  troubles,  began  sadly  enough 
for  the  Patrizis,  in  Rome,  at  La  Fleche,  and  at  the 
prison  rock  of  the  Chateau  d'If.  Towards  the 
middle  of  February  some  excitement  was  caused  in 
the  latter  place  by  the  sudden  appearance,  one  after- 
noon, of  a  barge  displaying  the  imperial  flag,  and  evi- 
dently conveying  some  high  official.  The  personage 
proved  to  be  M.  de  Vandouvre,  the  Commissioner- 
General  of  Police  at  Marseilles,  with  a  number  of 
persons  in  his  suite,  some  of  them  wearing  the  tri- 
color sash  of  office.  The  party  went  to  the  Com- 
mandant's apartment  and  immediately  from  thence 
tQ  the  prison,  where  M.  de  Vandouvre  entered  the 


282  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

room  of  one  Rochelle,  where  he  remained  shut  up  a 
long  time,  putting  the  prisoner  through  a  very  severe 
examination  and  sequestrating  a  great  quantity  of  his 
papers.  On  emerging  with  these  in  his  hands,  he 
ordered  that  M.  Rochelle  should  be  kept  in  the 
most  rigorous  solitary  confinement.  Patrizi,  record- 
ing the  incident  in  his  diary,  says  :  "  While  this  was 
going  on  the  Chevalier  Lehara  and  I,  who  had  been 
having  our  meals  together  since  the  7th  of  January, 
ordered  our  dinner  to  be  brought  in.  One  of  our 
guards  who  waited  upon  us,  having  brought  the  first 
dishes,  remained  in  the  room — a  strange  thing,  which 
he  had  never  done  before.  When  we  asked  him  to 
go  and  fetch  the  rest  of  our  dinner  he  replied  that 
he  could  not.  We  insisted  on  further  explanations, 
and  then  he  told  us,  with  much  confusion  (for  he 
was  really  a  very  honest  fellow),  that  he  had  received 
orders  not  to  leave  the  room.  This  answer  surprised 
us,  and  caused  our  appetite  to  disappear  on  the 
instant.  The  matter  seemed  so  ominous  that  we 
plied  him  with  questions,  and  at  last  he  told  us  that  he 
had  been  commanded  not  to  lose  sight  of  M.  Lehara, 
adding,  however,  that  the  order  did  not  regard  my- 
self, and  that  I  was  at  liberty  to  go  in  and  out  of  my 
room  as  I  pleased. 

"  I  must  confess  that,  in  spite  of  my  anxiety  for 
my  friend,  this  news  consoled  me  a  good  deal.  Had 
the  case  been  different  I  should  have  had  to  be 
anxious  both  for  him  and  myself !  I  at  once  profited 
by  the  liberty  granted  me,  to  leave  my  friend^s  room, 


THE  COMMISSIONER'S  VISIT  283 

where  we  had  been  dining,  and  go  down  to  my  own, 
which  was  reached  by  a  small  wooden  staircase,  that 
of  M.  Lehara  having  been  built  into  the  lower  room 
like  a  closed  '  loge '  at  a  theatre.  As  soon  as  I  was 
in  my  own  apa/'tment  I  hastened  to  sort  out  some 
papers  which  I  thought  might  prove  dangerous  and 
threw  them  into  the  stove.  The  dinner  now  being 
terminated,  the  Commissioner  and  his  suite  .  .  . 
entered  the  room  of  M.  Lehara.  I  left  at  once." 
(The  Marchese  has  evidently  returned  upstairs  to 
his  friend.)  '*  There  were  loud  words  between  the 
Commissioner  and  M.  Lehara  ;  a  strict  perquisition 
of  his  effects  was  made,  and  he  was  condemned  to 
solitary  confinement."  (This  meant  no  communica- 
tion with  any  person  except  his  jailers.) 

"  Two  days  later  the  Commissioner  returned  with 
his  satellites  and  carried  out  the  same  measures  with 
regard  to  Major  Rousillon,  also  examining  five  other 
prisoners,  who  had  been  implicated  in  the  celebrated 
affair  of  Moreau,  Pichegru  and  Georges  Cadoudal  in 
1804.* 

"  At  his  first  visit  the  Commissioner-General  had 
left  new  and  rigorous  orders.  The  prisoners  were 
not  to  be  allowed  to  come  down  from  the  prison 
building  to  the  '  place,*  or  square  of  the  fort ;  they 
were  not  to  receive  any  newspapers,  and  no  person 
whatever  was  to  enter  the  prison  itself  except  the 
turnkey  and  his  two  assistants,  which  order  ap- 
peared  to   exclude    even    the    Commandant.       No 

*  See  Appendix,  "  A  Diplomatist's  Wife  in  Many  Lands,"  Vol.  II. 


284  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

explanation  was  given,  and  we  could  not  divine 
the  motive  of  all  this  severity,  or  of  the  measures 
taken  against  the  three  men  who  had  been  placed 
in  isolation.  On  the  2ist  and  22nd  of  February- 
thirty  prisoners  were  transferred  from  Compiano  in 
Italy  to  the  Chateau  d'lf,  because  of  the  approach 
of  the  Allies  ;  and  on  this  occasion  the  three  men 
who  had  just  been  condemned  to  isolation  were 
once  more  put  on  the  same  footing  as  all  the  rest, 
which  made  us  think  that  there  was  nothing  in 
particular  against  them,  and  that  the  whole  thing 
was  merely  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  already 
tottering  Government  to  inspire  terror  at  that  critical 
moment. 

"  For,  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  all  newspapers, 
there  came  through  to  our  ears  the  comforting  news 
of  the  war,  which  showed  that  Napoleon's  affairs 
were  already  going  lame  "  {andavono  zoppe).  "  The 
very  guards  set  to  keep  us  .  .  .  made  a  merit  of 
telling  us  all  that  was  going  on,  and  it  was  the 
turnkey  himself  who  gave  me  the  news  of  the  taking 
of  Paris  by  the  Allies. 

"  Therefore  we  lived  in  the  sweet  hope  that  our 
troubles  would  soon  be  ended,  our  shackles  struck 
off.  On  the  14th  of  April  another  prisoner  confided 
to  me  that  an  ecclesiastic  had  come  from  Marseilles, 
and,  having  gone  to  visit  Olive,  the  good,  honest 
man  who  supplied  our  food,  he  had  announced  to 
him  the  abdication  of  Bonaparte  and  the  proclamation 
of  Louis  XVIII,  and   told   him   further   that    the 


RELEASE  AT  LAST  285 

island  of  Elba  had  been  assigned  to  the  discredited 
Emperor,  with  a  good  sum  of  money.  I  made 
haste  to  tell  all  my  colleagues  these  most  comforting 
news,  and  it  can  easily  be  imagined  what  our  emotions 
were.  The  adorable  Providence  of  God  thus  gently 
prepared  our  hearts  for  a  joy  which,  had  it  come 
too  suddenly,  would  have  been  too  great  to  be  borne." 

At  La  Fl^che  they  were  still  in  ignorance  of  the 
march  of  events,  and  Cunegonda,  all  unconscious 
that  her  sorrows  would  be  ended  in  a  few  days, 
seems  at  last  to  have  given  way  to  the  lassitude 
of  despair.     So  late  as  March  27  she  writes  : 

"  I  received  this  week,  my  dear  Giovanni,  your 
two  letters  of  the  i8th  and  25  th  of  February.  The 
first  was  sealed  and  bore  the  Marseilles  postmark, 
so  that  I  had  a  moment's  hope  that  some  change 
had  been  made  in  your  circumstances,  and  I  opened 
it  hurriedly.  I  understood  my  mistake  when  I  saw 
that  everlasting  date  of  the  Chateau  d'lf  My  God! 
how  it  hurts  me  to  see  it,  and  how  it  must  hurt 
you  to  write  it  I  " 

Fifteen  days  later  Cunegonda  addressed  a  letter  to 
Giovanni,  not  to  the  Chateau  d'lf,  but  to  Marseilles 
...  and  the  letter  began,  "  Alleluia  !     Alleluia  !  " 

In  Giovanni's  diary,  kept  for  nearly  two  years, 
the  record  of  his  weary  imprisonment  at  the  Chateau 
d'lf  closes  with  the  simple  word  "  Liberty." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

"On  that  same  evening,  the  14th,"  Giovanni  Patrizi 
writes  in  his  Memoirs,  ''  our  guard,  when  they  came 
as  usual  to  lock  us  up,  asked  us  if  we  had  seen  the 
illuminations  made  in  Marseilles  to  celebrate  the 
*  Peace '  of  which  the  news  had  just  arrived.  I 
laughed  at  this  word  *  Peace,'  employed  to  mark 
the  downfall  of  the  Tyrant.  Luckily  the  one  tiny 
window  of  our  room  looked  towards  Marseilles.  I 
flew  to  open  it,  and  saw  the  glow  of  the  feux  de  joie 
blazing  in  the  great  city. 

"  The  sight  sent  us  nearly  mad  with  joy,  and, 
as  soon  as  the  guards  had  locked  us  in  and  gone 
away,  we  began  to  give  vent  to  our  delight,  em- 
bracing one  another,  dancing  up  and  down,  indulging 
in  every  wild  demonstration  that  the  unfortunate 
are  capable  of  when  they  see  that  their  troubles  are 
over.  I  instantly  brought  out  my  whole  provision 
of  tallow  candles,  some  twenty  in  all,  and,  in  the 
absence  of  candlesticks,  stuck  them  in  bottles  and 
lighted  them  to  celebrate  the  coming  deliverance. 
My  four  colleagues  did  the  same,  so  that  our  dark 
cell  looked  like  a  brilliantly  lit  ballroom.  Nor 
did  we  forget  to  turn  gratefully  to  our  Heavenly 

286 


DEPOSITION  OF  NAPOLEON  287 

Benefactor,  singing  in  low  voices  the  Te  Deum, 
and  closing  with  the  prayer  designated  for  it,  as  well 
as  with  those  for  the  Supreme  Pontiff  and  the  King 
of  France. 

"  Very  little  did  we  sleep  that  night,  in  which 
we  had  the  certain  hope  that  all  would  now  be 
changed  for  us.  The  longed-for  dawn  came  at  last, 
and  very  early  we  heard  the  beating  of  the  drums, 
which  announced  the  arrival  of  an  official  launch. 
We  climbed  to  the  terrace  to  see  what  was  going 
on,  and  perceived  that,  the  moment  the  persons  in 
the  boat  disembarked,  the  garrison  of  the  fortress 
crowded  round  them  to  read  a  paper  they  had 
brought.  The  next  moment  we  heard  some  one 
exclaim,  '  The  eagle  is  not  upon  it  ! ' — for  the 
newspapers  till  now  had  all  been  marked  with  that 
emblem.  The  paper  was  brought  into  the  prison. 
It  was  stamped  with  the  three  lilies,  and  contained 
the  act  of  the  Senate  of  Paris,  which,  Bonaparte 
being  deposed,  had  proclaimed  allegiance  to  Louis 
XVIII.  After  this  good  news  our  French  priest 
made  ready  to  say  Mass  ;  but,  just  as  he  was  about 
to  begin  vesting  himself,  he  was  requested  to  wait 
awhile,  as  another  official  boat  was  approaching  the 
fort. 

"  I  quickly  returned  to  the  terrace  above,  and,  oh  ! 
what  was  my  joy  to  see  that  they  were  flying  the 
white  flag  !  To  greet  and  honour  it,  I  pulled  out 
my  pocket-handkerchief ;  a  companion  helped  me 
to  hold    it    out  wide,   so    that  it  waved   above  the 


288  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

towers  of  the  fort — so  that  to  a  Roman  fell  the 
honour  of  once  more  raising  the  royal  standard 
upon  those  walls  from  which  it  had  been  torn 
twenty-five  years  before  in  the  insane  frenzy  of 
mistaken  liberty  ! 

"  The  common  rejoicing  was  increased  when  there 
disembarked  from  the  boat  several  officers  decorated 
with  white  cockades,  and  we  heard  them  raise  the 
great  French  cry,  *  Vive  le  Roi  !  '  Most  heartily 
did  we  all  echo  that  cry ;  and  then  we  were  im- 
mediately informed  that  we  were  all  free,  but  they 
begged  us  to  wait  where  we  were  till  the  following 
day.  The  Commandant  now  approached  our  jubi- 
lant group,  looking  very  confused  and  dismayed,  and 
I  think  he  was  going  to  complain  about  our  shouts; 
but  some  newspapers  closed  his  mouth,  and  one  of 
the  prisoners  ordered  him  to  shout  '  Vive  le  Roi  ! ' 
which  he  promptly  did.  Indeed,  we  were  out  of 
minds  with  joy,  and  were  showing  it  in  a  thousand 
crazy  ways,  when  we  were  suddenly  told  to  get 
ready  to  leave  the  fort,  as  we  were  to  be  taken 
away  in  a  very  short  time. 

"I  cannot  say  what  the  others  did  at  this  an- 
nouncement, but  I  ran  to  my  room  and  began 
to  pack  my  properties  in  a  great  hurry.  I  had 
completed  my  task  some  hours,  and  yet  there 
appeared  no  prospect  of  departure  from  that  miser- 
able island. 

**  It  was  almost  night  when  another  officer  arrived, 
sent    from    Marseilles    by  the   Commandant    there, 


LAST  DAY  IN   PRISON  289 

who  we  hoped  would  prove  to  be  our  angel  of 
deliverance  ;  but  he,  after  saying  a  thousand  amiable 
things,  and  embracing  us  all  one  after  the  other, 
quenched  our  hopes  of  liberty  for  that  day,  and 
made  it  seem  doubtful  whether  they  would  even 
be  reaUsed  on  the  next.  This  intimation  put  us 
in  rather  a  bad  temper,  and  we  decided  to  send 
back  by  the  officer  a  letter  to  the  Commandant 
at  Marseilles  .  .  .  begging  him  to  hasten  the 
fulfilment  of  our  desires.  .  .  .  The  officer  took 
the  letter  back  with  him,  and,  as  he  left,  cried 
again,  '  Vive  le  Roi ! '  We  echoed  the  cry,  but 
with  less  enthusiasm  than  we  had  shown  in  the 
morning. 

"  The  night  being  come,  certain  that  we  must 
pass  it,  and  perhaps  others  yet,  at  the  fort,  we  fell 
into  conversation,  the  subject  of  which  can  easily 
be  imagined.  I  had  pulled  my  bed  to  pieces,  and 
now  began  to  think  that  1  had  better  go  and  make 
it  again  if  I  wanted  to  rest  at  all  comfortably.  It 
was  now  one  hour  of  the  night,  by  Italian  reckon- 
ing '*  (an  hour  and  a  half  after  sunset),  "  when  we 
were  told  that  a  boat  had  come  from  Marseilles  to 
remove  fourteen  prisoners  who  were  to  be  set  at 
liberty  that  night.  Not  imagining  that  I  would  be 
included  in  the  fortunate  number,  I  was  not  at  all 
electrified  by  the  news  ;  but  I  was  really  much  sur- 
prised at  the  attitude  assumed  by  two  Italian  fellow- 
prisoners,  who  began  to  grumble  violently  at  the 
indiscretion  of  coming  to  set  them  free  at  such  an 

19 


290  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

hour,  and  declared  that  they  would  not  move, 
even  if  their  names  were  on  the  list.  I  pro- 
tested against  this  extravagant  resolution,  saying 
that  at  whatever  time  I  might  receive  permission 
to  go,  I  should  instantly  avail  myself  of  it.  Ex- 
actly at  that  moment  I  received  word  that  I 
was  among  the  chosen  number,  and  my  com- 
patriots had  their  wish,  for  there  was  no  message 
for  them. 

"  Beside  myself  with  relief,  believing  it  could  be 
but  a  happy  dream,  I  asked  myself,  and  my  com- 
panions too,  if  I  were  really  awake  !  I  picked  up 
my  cloak,  resolving  to  return  for  my  baggage  the 
next  day,  came  out  of  the  prison,  and  got  into  the 
boat  with  thirteen  of  my  colleagues  (among  them 
was  the  Cur6,  Don  Giuseppe  Venere),  regretting 
indeed  to  have  left  in  that  dolorous  dwelling  twelve 
of  our  companions.  These  last  had  to  remain 
there  for  some  days  yet  ;  we  learnt  that  the  Com- 
mandant of  Marseilles  had  set  us  free  on  his  own 
responsibility,  in  order  to  appease  the  populace, 
which  clamoured  loudly  for  the  liberation  of  the 
prisoners  detained  in  the  Chateau  dTf  The  Com- 
mandant thought  that,  if  he  sent  for  some  of  us, 
the  people  would  be  pacified,  as  indeed  they  were, 
being  quite  ignorant  of  how  many  the  fort  con- 
tained. Before  quite  emptying  the  prison  the 
Commandant  wished  to  have  orders  from  Court, 
and  these  he  received  about  a  week  after  our 
liberation. 


RECEPTION   IN  MARSEILLES  291 

*' After  a  crossing  which  did  not  occupy  more 
than  half  an  hour,  the  wind  being  favourable,  we 
entered  the  port  of  Marseilles,  which  presented  a 
really  beautiful  spectacle  ;  every  habitation  in  the 
city  was  illuminated,  and  the  place  was  one  vast 
brilliant  amphitheatre.  On  every  side  one  heard 
cries  of  joy,  flags  were  waving,  bands  playing. 
When  we  reached  the  quay  where  we  were  to  dis- 
embark we  stepped  on  shore  into  an  immense 
concourse  of  people  who,  having  heard  of  our 
sufferings,  welcomed  us  with  noisy  enthusiasm  and 
with  demonstrations  of  the  most  lively  cordiality.  I 
could  not  escape  being  kissed  by  one  good  woman 
who  threw  her  arms  round  my  neck,  but  whose 
white  hair  reassured  me  that  there  was  no  diabolical 
suggestion  in  an  act  so  irregular  for  any  one,  and 
particularly  for  an  Italian  !  Accompanied  by  all  this 
crowd,  which  faithfully  clung  to  us,  we  were  con- 
ducted to  pay  our  respects  to  the  Commandant,  but 
we  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  see  him,  as  he  had 
already  gone  to  bed. 

"  And  now  the  group  of  ex-prisoners  broke  up 
to  go  and  seek  for  lodgings.  I  turned  my  steps  to 
the  house  of  Signor  Carminati,  the  Italian  banker, 
to  whom  I  had  been  directed  on  my  unhappy 
arrival  in  Marseilles,  and  from  whom  I  had  received 
an  infinity  of  kindnesses  during  my  imprisonment. 
During  the  earlier  months  of  it,  when  we  did  not 
imagine  it  would  last  so  long,  he  had  begged  me, 
when  I  should  come  out,  to  be  sure  to  go  and  stay 


292  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

in  his  house.  I  now  found  that  he  was  absent, 
having  been  obliged  to  travel  to  another  part  of 
Italy ;  but  his  wife  and  family  received  me  with  the 
greatest  cordiality." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Signor  Carminati*s  family 
was  in  ignorance  of  the  incredible  treachery  of  his 
conduct  towards  his  trusting  fellow  countryman. 
The  Marchese  himself  lived  and  died  without 
becoming  aware  of  it,  but  the  revelations  contained 
in  the  archives  of  the  Secret  Police,  and  only  dis- 
covered in  recent  years,  appear  to  supply  a  motive 
for  the  Italian  banker's  presence  being  so  "  urgently 
required  elsewhere "  when  Patrizi  came  out  of 
prison  ! 

Giovanni  continues  :  "The  next  morning,  in  spite 
of  the  heavy  rain,  I  returned  to  the  fort  to  fetch 
my  effects,  and  was  touched  with  pity  at  the  sight  of 
my  late  companions  who  had  remained  there  and 
were  still  uncertain  as  to  the  happy  moment  which 
should  deliver  them  from  their  troubles.  There 
were  some  whose  condition  really  aroused  com- 
passion, for  their  fortitude  failed  them  altogether 
in  this  new  and  wearing  trial.  Twelve  remained 
there  for  a  week  longer,  and  the  other  two  for  a 
couple  of  days  more  after  that  before  obtaining  their 
freedom. 

**  How  great  was  my  own  consolation,  two  or 
three  days  after  I  was  set  at  liberty,  on  receiving  a 
letter  from  my  beloved  wife,  in  which  she  informed 
me  that  La  Fl^che  had  also  been  freed  from  the  yoke 


THE   BOYS   LEAVE   LA  FLECHE        293 

of  the  tyrant,  that  her  sons  had  already  returned  to 
her  side,  and  that,  in  spite  of  the  perils  to  which  they 
had  been  exposed,  they  had,  by  the  Divine  Mercy, 
remained  faithful  to  their  principles  !  May  God's 
Holy  Name  be  blessed  !  " 

It  may  strike  the  modern  reader  as  something  of 
an  exaggeration  to  talk  of  the  *  principles  '  of  boys  of 
the  age  of  Xavier  and  Filippo,  but  the  home  educa- 
tion of  those  days  did  not  hesitate  to  teach  even  the 
very  young  that  they  were  primarily  responsible  for 
their  own  souls,  that  in  a  world  full  of  the  enemies 
of  religion  they  were  expected  to  play  their  own 
modest  part  as  faithful  Christians  and  good  soldiers 
of  the  Church.  It  was  Cunegonda's  good  fortune 
to  be  at  hand  at  La  Fleche  to  remind  them  of  all 
these  things  whenever  they  could  be  with  her  ;  and 
her  merit  that  she  had  sacrificed  home  and  comforts, 
and  her  health  too,  in  order  to  stay  near  her  boys. 
But  one  must  remember  that  she  only  saw  them  for 
short  intervals  now  and  again,  and  that  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  they  were  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  instructors  who  would  do  everything 
possible  to  make  them  imbibe  the  Voltairian  theories 
which  they  held  themselves — men  who  would  never 
miss  an  opportunity  of  trying  to  weaken  their  pupils' 
respect  and  loyalty  to  the  Church.  It  says  some- 
thing for  the  characters  of  the  Patrizi  boys,  as  well 
as  for  their  early  upbringing,  that  all  these  contrary 
influences  cast  no  taint  or  shadow  on  their  young 
minds,  and  that  they  returned  to  their  home  as  pure 


294  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

and  simple  and  devout  as  they  had  been  when  they 
left  it. 


Giovanni  had  planned  to  go  to  Lyon  to  meet  his 
wife,  but  he  changed  his  route  on  hearing  from  her 
that  she  intended  to  make  a  little  stay  in  Paris  to  try 
and  recover  the  property  of  her  father,  Prince  Xavier 
of  Saxony,  who  had  departed  this  life  some  eight 
years  earlier.  The  Marchese's  widowed  mother 
was  eagerly  awaiting  him  in  Rome,  and  he  was  in 
haste  to  console  her  for  his  own  long  absence  and 
her  great  loss.  An  old  and  dear  friend  of  them 
both,  Cardinal  Consalvi,  urged  her  claims  too,  very 
warmly.  The  Marchese  writes  :  *'  Great  indeed  was 
my  joy  when,  after  another  day  or  two  in  Mar- 
seilles, I  had  the  satisfaction  of  once  more  embracing 
the  Eminentissimo  Consalvi,  my  valued  friend,  who 
was  also  returning  to  Italy  and  had  come  fifty  miles 
out  of  his  way  to  see  me  in  passing.  At  the  moment 
of  our  reunion  I  could  not  refrain  from  recalling  to 
him  the  memory  of  my  dear  father,  and  our  tears 
fell  together,  mine  for  a  parent,  his  for  a  friend. 
Having  then  spoken  to  him  of  my  design  of  going 
to  Lyon  to  wait  there  for  my  wife  to  rejoin  me,  he 
showed  me  such  excellent  reasons  for  at  once  pro- 
ceeding to  Rome  that  I  decided  to  follow  his  advice 
and  do  so.  ...  I  engaged  a  posting  carriage  to 
carry    me    from    Marseilles  to  Nice,  taking  as  my 


A  MASONIC   FESTIVAL  295 

travelling  companion  Don  Giuseppe  Venere,  the 
Cur6  of  Civitella  Cesi,  who  had  been  my  colleague 
at  the  Chateau  d'lf  ;  and  I  fixed  our  departure  for 
April  27,  it  being  well  understood  that  the  carriage 
was  to  take  no  other  passengers." 

The  Marchese's  own  luxurious  travelling  carriage, 
confided  the  year  before  to  the  lauded  Signor 
Carminati,  seems  to  have  been  sent  back  to  Nice  for 
some  reason.  The  Memoirs  do  not  enlighten  us  on 
this  point,  but  they  contain  here  the  description  of  a 
curious  sight  that  the  writer  beheld  during  his  halt 
in  Marseilles. 

"  Returning  to  the  house  alone  one  evening, 
after  assisting  at  a  musical  gathering,  I  heard  from 
far  away  the  sounds  of  drums  and  other  military 
instruments,  which  seemed  to  be  accompanying  a 
funeral.  Then  I  saw  the  light  of  many  torches, 
flaring  in  the  wind,  coming  towards  me,  and 
curiosity  made  me  halt  to  see  what  it  was  all  about. 
The  procession  was  headed  by  a  banner  inscribed 
The  French  Lodge  of  St.  Louis ^  which,  being  inter- 
preted, meant  'The  Masonic  Lodge  hypocritically 
called  of  St.  Louis.'  I  perceived  that  this  was  a 
Masonic  festival,  and  I  confess  that  I  shuddered  at 
the  thought  ;  but  1  determined  to  see  what  was 
taking  place.  After  the  standard-bearer  came  a 
considerable  number  of  persons  carrying  torches, 
some  of  pitch,  some,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  of  wax. 
They  were  followed  by  a  bier  carried  by  four  men, 
and  covered  by  what  looked  like  a  black  pall ;  on 


296  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

the  bier  was  fixed  a  bust,  evidently  the  portrait  of 
one  of  the  royal  family  of  France,  and  I  imagined 
that  the  show  was  intended  to  do  honour  to  the 
unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  I  said  as  much  to  another 
spectator  at  my  side,  but  he  replied  that  the  bust 
represented  Louis  XVIII,  and  that  the  Freemasons 
were  carrying  it  in  triumph  about  the  city  ! 

"  The  procession  went  on,  and  halted  at  the  house 
of  the  Mayor,  and,  under  the  windows,  one  of  these 
unhappy  men  addressed  a  complimentary  oration  to 
the  Magistrate.  I  was  told  that  the  company  had 
already  visited  the  theatre,  with  equal  pomp.  .  .  . 
Afterwards,  that  abhorred  pack  retreated  to  its  lair, 
and  I  came  home,  indignant  at  what  I  had  seen,  and 
forming  melancholy  auguries  of  the  fortunes  of  a 
monarchy  which,  at  the  moment  of  its  restoration, 
permitted  the  public  celebrations  of  an  impious  and 
revolutionary  sect  ! 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  April  27  I  left  Marseilles, 
with  my  travelling  companion,  Don  Giuseppe 
Venere,  and  before  arriving  at  Aix  we  overtook 
Cardinal  Gabrielli,  who  was  returning  by  that 
road.  I  was  glad,  truly,  to  salute  the  most 
worthy  prelate,  who  also  greeted  me  with  very 
great  cordiality.  .  .  .  We  reached  Frejus "  (on  the 
29th)  "  and  were  told  that  the  errant  usurper 
Bonaparte  had  embarked  from  the  little  port  eight 
hours  earlier  to  be  conveyed  to  the  Island  of  Elba. 
That  same  evening  we  reached  Cannes,  where  we 
passed  the  night.     Leaving  Cannes  on  the  30th,  we 


NICE— COL  DI  TENDA  297 

crossed  the  Var,  and  said  the  Te  Deum  with  all  our 
hearts  when  we  found  ourselves  once  more  in  our 
beautiful  and  beloved  Italy.  At  midday  we  drove 
into  Nice,  and  I  at  once  made  inquiries  for  my  own 
travelling  carriage  ;  but  heard,  to  my  great  dis- 
appointment, that  it  had  been  put  on  board  a  vessel 
bound  for  Marseilles.  It  was  suggested  to  me  that 
I  should  wait  for  its  return,  which  could  be  effected 
by  writing  at  once  to  that  place,  but  I  would  not 
submit  to  such  a  waste  of  time.  I  decided  to  stay 
one  day  in  Nice  to  procure  a  coach  as  far  as  Turin, 
and  from  thence  I  would  post  it  back  to  Rome. 

"  That  evening  I  received  visits  from  the  Cardinals 
Brancadaro  and  Gabrielli,  who  had  come  to  Nice  in 
the  hope  of  meeting  the  Holy  Father  ;  but  they  could 
get  no  news  of  him  ;  nobody  knew  in  the  least 
where  he  might  be." 

On  May  3  the  Marchese  and  the  Cure  reached 
Tenda,  where  elaborate  arrangements  had  to  be  made 
for  crossing  the  pass. 

"  The  Vetturino,"  Giovanni  writes,  ^'  arranged 
for  us  to  have  horses  to  ride,  and  also  to  carry  our 
possessions  over  the  Col  di  Tenda.  The  coach  was 
left  here,  and  another  was  to  be  found  for  us  at 
Limone,  a  small  town  on  the  other  side.  So,  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th,  we  mounted  and  ascended  to 
the  top  of  the  pass  quite  easily  ;  but  there  we  had  to 
alight  and  go  forward  on  foot,  as  it  was  impossible 
to  ride  down.  So  I  started  on  the  descent  with  a 
man  on  either  side  to  hold  me  up,  for  the  ice  caused 


298  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

me  to  slip  at  every  step.  But,  further,  the  path  was 
so  narrow  that  three  could  not  walk  abreast,  and  I 
foresaw  that  the  journey  would  be  long  and  tedious. 
I  was  bewailing  this  to  the  two  peasants  who  were 
helping  me,  and  they  at  once  proposed  that  we  should 
take  a  short  cut,  and  I  most  gladly  assented  ;  but 
when  they  showed  it  to  me  I  was  utterly  dismayed, 
for  it  was  simply  the  steep  slope  of  that  towering 
mountain  thickly  covered  with  snow  !  As  I  did  not 
want  to  pass  immediately  from  the  Col  di  Tenda  to 
a  better  world,  I  hesitated  a  little  .  .  .  but  my 
guides,  who  were  practical  men,  assuring  me  that 
there  was  no  danger,  I  allowed  myself  to  be  per- 
suaded, and,  almost  carried  by  them,  started  to  slide 
down  that  break- neck  slope,  of  which  I  could  not 
even  see  the  termination.  From  time  to  time  we 
halted  to  take  breath  ;  often  we  were  above  our 
knees  in  the  snow,  but  I  accomplished  thus  in  half 
an  hour  the  descent  which  would  have  occupied  two 
if  1  had  kept  to  the  beaten  track. 

"  My  companion  had  not  followed  my  example  .  .  . 
and  made  his  journey  over  the  path  followed  by  the 
packhorses,  with  various  tumbles  on  the  way.  I 
arrived  alone  at  the  village  of  Limone,  and  had  to 
go  to  bed  while  my  breeches  were  being  dried,  for 
they  were  soaked  through  with  the  snow. 

"  That  evening  we  reached  Cuneo,  which  was 
crowded  with  French  troops  returning  to  France. 
At  Cuneo  1  again  had  the  good  luck  to  find 
Cardinal  Brancadaro  in  the  same  hotel,  and  the  next 


THE   HOSPICE  AT  MODENA  299 

morning  he  went  publicly,  though  still  in  a  layman's 
habit,  to  the  Church  of  a  Confraternity  where  my 
travelling  companion  Don  G.  Venere  said  Mass 
with  the  accompaniment  of  the  organ." 

The  journey  continued  without  much  incident 
except  the  frequent  falling  in  with  other  joyfully 
returning  exiles,  till  the  travellers  approached 
Modena,  when,  the  Marchese  says,  "  We  were 
accosted  by  two  ecclesiastics  who  begged  us  to  come 
and  stay  at  a  certain  palace  of  the  town,  which,  by 
the  kindness  of  several  pious  persons,  had  been 
converted  into  a  hospice  where  all  returning  exiles 
were  entertained  free  of  charge  by  the  charity  of 
that  Benevolent  Society.  A  fine  example,  which  does 
great  honour  to  the  good  Modenese  !  We  thanked 
the  ecclesiastics  very  gratefully  for  their  kind  offer, 
but  excused  ourselves  from  accepting  it,  as  we  were 
in  a  great  hurry  to  continue  our  journey. 

"  On  entering  the  city  I  went  to  visit  my  friend, 
Count  Marchisio.  ...  In  his  house  I  found 
Cardinal  Pignatelli,  who  was  staying  there,  in  a  very 
pitiable  condition,  the  result  of  repeated  and  violent 
fits  of  apoplexy  which  he  had  suffered  in  France. 
This  most  worthy  prelate,  the  moment  he  saw 
me,  burst  into  uncontrollable  weeping,  the  usual 
consequence  of  that  distemper,  and  embraced  me 
with  much  tenderness,  at  which  I  was  greatly 
touched. 

**  Meanwhile  the  Cur^  had  betaken  himself  to 
the  hospice  for  the  returning  exiles,  where  he  was 


300  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

regaled  with  chocolate.  There  I  went  to  fetch 
him,  and  we  got  into  the  carriage  and  resumed 
our  journey,  arriving  towards  evening  at  Bologna, 
where  we  stopped  at  the  Hotel  del  Pellegrino. 
In  Bologna  I  saw  my  cousin,  Donna  Prudenza 
Spada,  the  wife  of  Marchese  Valerio  Boschi,  and 
also  Count  Baccili  and  the  priest  Don  Girolamo 
Ricci,  both  old  fellow  prisoners  with  me  at 
Fenestrelle. 

** .  .  .  On  the  1 2th  we  reached  Siena,  where 
I  went  to  my  own  house.  I  had  intended  to  leave 
on  the  13th,  but,  some  repairs  to  the  travelling 
carriage  being  required,  I  remained  for  two  days. 

"During  this  time  I  enjoyed  the  company  of 
my  delightful  uncle,  the  Bailli  Ruspoli,  who  was 
now  permanently  established  in  Siena,  in  my  house  ; 
and  I  received  innumerable  kind  attentions  from 
his  Grace  the  Archbishop  Zondadari,  as  well  as 
from  many  others  of  the  good  Sienese  gentlemen. 
The  archbishop  invited  me  to  dinner,  and  among 
the  guests  was  Cardinal  RufFo,  who  was  staying 
with  him.  While  there  we  received  the  comfort- 
ing news  that  the  Pontifical  Government  had  been 
restored  in  Rome  on  the  nth. 

"  On  the  1 5th  we  left  Siena  and  arrived  that 
night  at  San  Lorenzo  Nuovo.  Passing  through 
Acquapendente,  we  saw  the  illuminations  and  cele- 
brations in  honour  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Pontifical  Government. 

''Leaving    San    Lorenzo    Nuovo    on    the    i6th, 


PATRIZrS  RETURN  TO  ROME         301 

we  reached  Viterbo  about  noon.  ...  In  this 
town  I  parted  from  my  companion,  the  Cure 
Venere,  and  went  on  towards  Rome  with  a  young 
Roman,  who  in  Turin  had  begged  me  to  take 
him  on  the  box  as  my  servant,  so  that  he  could 
get  back  to  his  own  country.  We  left  Viterbo 
at  about  two  in  the  afternoon — two  hours  after 
midnight  I  at  last  entered  Rome  ! 

"  How  can  I  describe  my  joy  in  approaching, 
in  entering,  the  gates  of  my  beloved  country 
(j>atria)  !  With  what  ecstasy  I  sang  the  Te  Deum 
as  I  passed  through  the  Porta  del  Popolo  ! 

*'  But  yet  greater  was  my  joy  on  entering  the 
house  from  which  the  most  cruel  of  tyrants  had 
barbarously  kept  me  torn  away  for  more  than  two 
years !  Only  one  cloud  was  now  cast  over  my 
happiness  by  the  reflection  that  I  would  not  find 
there  my  most  beloved  father,  passed  already,  as 
I  hope,  to  an  infinitely  happier  dwelling. 

"  Many  of  the  servants,  as  well  as  the  good 
tutor,  came  down  the  stairs  to  meet  me.  Near 
the  door  of  the  Sala,  preparing  to  follow  them, 
was  my  darling  Costantino,  with  my  dear  sister 
Maria,  and  in  the  doorway  of  the  second  anteroom 
stood  my  beloved  mother,  leaning  on  her  stick, 
for  she  had  not  quite  recovered  from  the  bad  fall 
she  had  had  in  September.  .  .  .  Oh  the  tenderness 
of  those  embraces  and  kisses  when  I  pressed  to 
my  heart  those  dear  objects  of  filial,  paternal,  and 
brotherly  affection  1     How  the  tears  flowed  when 


302  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

I  threw  my  arms  round  my  good  mother,  both 
of  us  remembering  him  whom  we  had  lost  five 
months  before  ! 

"  That  same  night,  even,  and  in  the  days  that 
followed  I  received  continual  visits  from  relations, 
old  friends,  and  numbers  of  other  persons,  who 
flocked  to  congratulate  me  on  my  return.  .  .  ." 

Giovanni  Patrizi's  troubles  were  over,  the  reward 
of  his  constancy  and  courage  was  meted  out  to  him 
at  last.  Of  all  the  nobles,  not  only  of  Rome  but 
of  Italy,  he  was  the  only  one  who  had  resisted 
unflinchingly  the  odious  enactments  of  the  "  Golden 
Levy,"  the  only  one,  as  the  French  historian,  who 
abuses  and  decries  him,  is  forced  to  admit,  who 
never  cringed  or  yielded  for  a  moment  to  the  over- 
whelming forces  opposed  to  him.  He  himself  was 
taken  by  force  ;  his  boys  were  the  only  ones  who 
had  to  be  conducted  by  force  to  Napoleon's  school, 
and  he  would  have  met  death  smiling  had  death 
meant  the  safety  of  his  children's  souls.  The  sons 
of  such  a  father  were  very  precious  in  the  eyes  of 
God.  All  three  justified  their  paternity.  Xavier, 
the  eldest,  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus  a  year  before 
Giovanni's  death,  became  immensely  distinguished 
for  the  holiness  of  his  life  and  for  his  vast  learning, 
especially  in  exegesis  and  Oriental  languages,  of 
which  subjects  he  held  the  chairs  at  the  Sapienza 
College  for  many  years.  Constantino  entered  the 
ecclesiastical  state,  became  a  prelate,  '*  Maestro  di 
Camera"  to  Pius  IX,  finally  cardinal,  and — strange 


PATRIZrS  DESCENDANTS  303 

turn  of  Fortune's  wheel ! — was  deputed  to  represent 
the  Pontiff  as  godfather  at  the  baptism  of  the  Prince 
Imperial,  the  son  of  Napoleon  III.  As  to  Giovanni's 
third  son,  the  irrepressible  *^  Pippo,"  he  grew  up, 
married,  first,  Giovanna  dei  Conti  Somunaglia,  and, 
after  her  death  Giulia  Chigi,  widow  of  the  Marchese 
Lavaggi.  He  had  several  children,  and  his  direct 
descendants  to-day  number  just  one  hundred.  The 
shadow  of  the  Patrizis  has  not  been  allowed  to 
grow  less. 


CHAPTER   XV 

On  April  lo,  in  that  particular  year  of  1814,  the 
sun  had  risen  again  for  the  exiled  wife  and  children 
at  La  Fl^che.  Cunegonda's  words  seem  to  fall  over 
each  other  in  the  letter  which  begins  "  Alleluia  ! 
Alleluia  !  "  *'  La  joie  fait  peur  !  "  The  intensity 
of  the  relief  was  almost  more  than  she  could  bear. 

"  At  last  we  are  free,"  she  writes  ;  "  our  sorrows 
are  over.  Be  patient  if  this  letter  is  disjointed, 
for,  what  with  joy  and  talk  and  packing-up,  I  have 
lost  my  head.  I  leave  on  Wednesday,  the  13th, 
for  Paris,  to  find  out  if  you  have  been  set  free, 
and,  if  not,  to  have  you  brought  out  at  once.  I 
will  stay  there  as  short  a  time  as  possible,  and  hope 
to  get  through  with  my  business  in  a  very  few 
days.  I  leave  orders  here  for  any  letters  that  may 
come  to  be  sent  on  to  Paris.  ...  If  the  King  is 
already  in  Paris,  or  if  he  is  just  coming  there,  I 
will  wait  to  see  him  about  my  own  and  my  sister's 
interests  in  our  father's  property.  The  moment 
that  affair  is  set  going  I  will  leave  for  my  dear 
Rome.  Write  to  me  at  Paris,  Hotel  Hambourg, 
18  Rue  Jacob,  and  tell  me  if  you  are  starting  at 
once  for  Rome,  as  I  imagine  you  will  be.  .  .  .  My 

304 


THE  DUC  D'ESCLIGNAC  305 

dear  Giovanni,  after  nearly  twenty-nine  months  of 
separation,  we  are  on  the  eve  of  being  reunited, 
miraculously  reunited.  The  Chevalier  is  crazy  with 
joy — as  we  all  are.  .  .  ." 

Xavier  adds  a  postscript :  "  At  last  we  can  write 
to  one  another  in  our  own  language  and  without 
any  mysteries." 

Pippo,  too,  puts  in  his  word  :  *'  At  last  the  hour 
has  come  when  all  the  bonds  that  kept  us  in 
France  are  broken  ;  we  can  go  back  to  our  dear 
Rome  !     Oh,  what  a  beautiful  Easter  !  " 

Cunegonda  could  learn  nothing  definite  about 
her  husband  when  she  reached  Paris,  and,  writing 
to  him  again,  on  April  19,  still  addresses  her  letter 
to  Marseilles.  Her  brother-in-law,  the  Due 
d'Esclignac,  had  already  on  the  1 1  th  written  a 
very  pressing  letter  to  some  high  functionary, 
although  precisely  which  it  is  impossible  to  say, 
as  the  letter  still  preserved  in  the  Paris  archives 
bears  no  address. 

"  Monsieur  le  Baron, 

"  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  about  the  Marquis 
and  Marquise  Patrizi  "  (the  latter)  "  my  sister-in-law, 
exiled  or  imprisoned  on  account  of  their  opinions, 
on  the  subject  of  which  I  had  the  honour  of 
speaking  to  Your  Excellency  already  six  months 
ago. 

"  The    letter   of  M.    le    Comte    de    Nesselrode 
leaving    no   doubt  whatever    as    to  the  manner  in 
20 


3o6  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

which  they,  as  well  as  their  children,  who  were 
sent  by  force  to  la  Fl^che,  are  to  be  treated,  I 
should  have  considered  it  superfluous  to  present 
my  request  but  for  the  fact  that  the  many 
occupations  laid  upon  you  by  present  circumstances 
made  it  my  duty  to  remind  you  of  the  Patrizis, 
knowing  well.  Monsieur  le  Baron,  how  unwillingly 
you  consented  to  the  execution  of  the  unjust  and 
hard  measures  used  towards  this  family  ;  this 
knowledge  assures  me  of  the  promptness  with 
which  you  will  give  the  required  orders  for  their 
liberation. 

"I  am,  etc.,  etc., 

"  Le  Due  d'Esclignac.'* 

The  return  of  the  little  family  from  La  Fl^che 
to  Paris  is  described  by  Xavier  when  he  con- 
scientiously writes  up  his  journal  there. 

"  When  we  entered  the  city  on  the  14th  of 
April,  by  the  Barri^re  of  Passy,  situated  on  the 
Seine,  I  saw  a  double  stockade  that  had  been  set 
up  to  impede  the  entry  of  the  Allies,  a  purely 
nominal  thing  which  might  have  delayed  them 
three  or  four  minutes  at  the  most.  The  barricade 
was  guarded  by  Russian  troops  and  the  National 
Guard.  At  the  Champs  de  Mars  there  was  a 
small  Russian  camp  with  a  great  many  mortars. 
The  same  was  on  the  field  of  the  Invalides  ;  but 
there  was  no  artillery  there  or  at  the  barricade 
either.     The  Emperors  of  Russia  and  Austria  were 


XAVIER'S   JOURNAL  307 

in  Paris,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  Bernadotte  the 
King  of  Sweden  ;  but  the  last  was  treated  as  of 
no  importance  at  all;  so  he  is  preparing  to  leave, 
with  the  excuse  of  attending  to  affairs  in  his 
Kingdom.  The  Comte  d'Artois,  called  *  Monsieur  ' 
because  he  is  the  own  brother  of  Louis  XVIII, 
arrived  on  the  nth  inst.,  receiving  tremendous 
acclamations  from  the  populace,  accompanied  by 
600  men  of  the  National  Guard,  and  he  himself 
in  the  uniform  of  the  said  Guard  ;  he,  the  moment 
he  arrived,  went  to  give  thanks  to  God,  at  the 
Church  of  Notre  Dame.  He  is  now  Lieutenant- 
General  (viceroy)  of  the  Kingdom  till  the  King's 
arrival.  The  Emperor  of  Russia,  Alexander, 
entered  Paris  with  the  King  of  Prussia,  on  the 
31st  of  March  ;  after  a  fight  which  lasted  twelve 
hours,  20,000  Frenchmen  were  overcome  by 
200,000  of  the  Allies,  and  Paris  was  obliged  to 
capitulate.  He  "  (the  Emperor  of  Russia)  **  having 
been  asked  by  all  the  inhabitants  to  place  a  Bourbon 
on  the  throne,  he  promised  to  do  so.  On  the  14th 
the  schismatic "  (Russian  orthodox)  "  priests  sang 
a  Te  Deum  on  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  otherwise 
Place  de  Louis  XV,  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
although  a  schismatic,  acknowledging  that  his 
victory  was  all  the  work  of  God.  The  Emperor  of 
Austria  entered  on  the  1 5th  "  (of  April).  "  Besides 
the  troops  of  the  said  sovereigns  there  are  also 
English.  All  the  troops  in  Paris  are  50,000  ;  and 
there  are  100,000  in  the  environs. 


3o8  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

**  On  coming  into  Paris  I  saw  the  Dome  of 
the  Invalides  with  the  gilding  finished  ;  only  on 
the  upper  part,  however.  The  so-called  Palace  of 
the  King  of  Rome  has  been  left  six  or  seven  palms 
high.  It  is  pleasant  to  see  the  Eagles,  etc.,  taken 
down  ...  all  that  belonged  to  the  past  Govern- 
ment. Bonaparte  is  derided  in  many  papers  which 
are  scattered  about  the  city.  He  is  at  Fontaine- 
bleau,  where  he  amuses  himself  with  making  decrees 
and  distributing  decorations,  notwithstanding  his 
abdication. 

'*  Before  the  arrival  of  Monsieur,  a  provisional 
Government  of  three  persons  was  formed. 

"  It  is  notable  that  the  first  decrees  of  the  said 
Government  were  :  first,  the  liberation  of  the  Pope  ; 
second,  the  restoration  of  children  to  their  parents. 
The  Senate  has  made  a  constitution,  which  is  in 
vigour  now,  although  it  seems  that  the  King  will 
not  be  able  to  accept  it. 

*'  On  the  1 6th,  returning  from  St.  Germain  des 
Pres,  at  the  end  of  the  Rue  Bonaparte  I  found 
that  the  name  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  they 
say  it  is  to  be  called  the  Rue  de  la  Paix.  On 
the  17th  I  heard  for  the  first  time  the  "Domine 
salvum  fac  Regem  *'  sung  in  the  above-mentioned 
church. 

"...  At  the  Champs  Elysees  there  was  much 
baggage  of  the  Allied  Troops,  and  also  of  the 
Cossacks,  famous  robbers  and  destroyers,  and  there- 
fore very  unfavourably  regarded  (!)     I  passed  before 


CUNEGONDA   REACHES   LYON  309 

the  hotel  called  L'Elysee  Bourbon,  where  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia  is  staying,  and  the  Hotel  de  Saxe, 
where  the  Emperor  of  Austria  lodges  :  both  are  in 
the  Rue  Faubourg  St.  Honor6.  There  were  other 
Palaces  in  the  same  street  guarded  by  troops. 

"On  the  2 1st  arrived  the  Due  de  Berry,  son  of 
the  Count  d'Artois  and  nephew  of  the  King.  .  .  . 

"  I  also  went  to  the  Place  Vend6me,  where  there 
is  the  great  bronze  column  from  which  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  had  removed  the  statue  of  Bonaparte  to 
take  it  away  to  Russia,  and  put  it  on  top  of  a 
pyramid  made  of  all  the  cannon  taken  from  the 
French.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  the  said  column 
was  made  out  of  the  bronze  of  cannon  which  Bona- 
parte took  from  the  Austrians  at  the  battle  of 
Austerlitz.'' 

There  are  gleams  of  philosophy  in  Xavier's 
journal ! 

On  April  30  Cunegonda,  with  her  boys  and  their 
faithful  Cavalier,  Don  Lorenzo  Giustiniani,  started 
on  their  return  to  Italy.  Their  immediate  objective 
was  Lyon,  where  the  Marchesa  made  sure  she  would 
find  her  husband  waiting  for  her.  He,  as  we  have 
seen,  imagined  that  the  business  would  detain  her 
much  longer  in  Paris,  and  had  returned  back  to  his 
mother  in  Rome.  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to 
his  wife  when  she  arrived  at  Lyon,  tremulous  with 
joy  at  the  thought  of  seeing  him  at  last,  to  find  that  he 
had  travelled  by  another  route.  She  had  flown  from 
Paris  at  the  first  moment  possible,  in  spite  of  feeling 


310  THE  PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

really  ill  with  fever  and  her  torment  of  headache, 
and,  the  disappointment  coming  after  so  much  strain 
and  agitation,  quite  overcame  her  fortitude.  She 
tries  to  catch  up  with  her  dear  traveller — hears  that 
he  is  only  three  days  ahead  of  her — and  then,  hearing 
that  he  is  travelling  night  and  day,  resigns  herself  to 
accomplishing  the  rest  of  the  journey  in  shorter 
stages. 

But  at  last,  at  last,  on  May  22,  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  the  husband  and  wife,  the  children 
and  the  parents,  were  reunited  under  their  own  roof 
— and  how  the  old  house  must  have  rung  with  the 
greetings,  the  laughter,  the  sobs  of  happiness,  the 
voices  of  the  boys  as  they  scampered  about  with 
the  stay-at-home  brother  !  The  letters  cease  here. 
The  conflicts  were  all  over,  the  battles  won  ;  the 
after-history  of  Giovanni  and  his  wife  is  the  history 
of  character,  and  for  those  who  have  accompanied 
them  so  far  some  details  of  it  may  not  be  without 
interest. 

Two  days  after  Cunegonda  had  reached  home, 
Pius  VII  was  brought  back  to  Rome  in  triumph. 
That  return  awoke  to  new  life  the  population  which 
for  six  long  years  had  remained  obstinately  deaf  to 
French  orders  and  French  cajoleries  ;  which,  though 
passionately  fond  of  amusements,  had  refused  to  be 
amused  by  the  invader  ;  though  devout,  had  refused 
to  enter  the  Basilica  for  his  Te  Deums  ;  had,  in  dead 
silence,  obeyed  scrupulously  the  slightest  indication 
of  a  wish  on  the  part  of  its  absent  sovereign  ;  for,  as 


NAPOLEON'S  FAILURE  311 

the  French  authorities  themselves  complained,  "  The 
Pope  has,  even  now,  more  power  in  his  little  finger 
than  we  with  the  Empire  at  our  back  !  " 

Active  resistance  there  had  been  none  to  speak  of ; 
the  Romans,  pure  and  simple,  are  not  a  factious 
people,  but  the  dead  wall  of  deaf-and-dumb  obstinacy 
presented  an  obstacle  impossible  to  overcome.  De- 
luded, like  Alaric,  by  his  own  passionate  desire  to 
possess  the  capital  of  Christendom,  his  dreams 
nursed  by  only  too  wilUng  agents,  Napoleon  dis- 
covered, at  last,  that  the  capital  of  Christendom 
would  have  none  of  him,  and  that  all  his  genius  and 
power  could  not  shake  the  strange,  deep-seated  loyalty 
of  the  people  to  their  own  ruler.  Many  and  good 
reasons  have  been  supplied  for  his  failure  ;  but  even 
had  he  gone  about  the  matter  differently — even  had 
he  refused  to  listen  to  the  scruples  from  which,  in 
fact,  he  was  never  free,  or  to  the  lures  of  popularity 
which  he  promised  himself  to  the  end — and  had  he 
treated  Rome  as  he  did  other  conquered  cities,  he 
was  doomed  to  fail.  Rome  has  capitulated,  since, 
to  a  greater  force  than  Napoleon  could  bring  to  bear 
on  it  ;  a  hundred  years  of  human  development  in 
anti-Christian  directions  has  produced  generation 
after  generation  to  whom  it  is  all  one  who  rules  so 
long  as  their  own  existence  can  go  comfortably 
forwards.  Feeling  is  dead  ;  the  mob,  more  than 
ever  in  the  world's  history,  crawls  on  its  stomach. 
But  a  hundred  years  ago  it  was  not  so  ;  there  was 
something  of  the  spiritual  still  in  the  composition  of 


312  THE   PATRIZI   MEMOIRS 

the  man  in  the  street,  unsatisfactory  as  he  might  be 
in  many  ways. 

It  seems  unlikely  that  the  world  will  ever  again 
witness  such  an  outburst  of  emotion  as  that  which 
greeted  Pius  VII  when  he  entered  the  gate  of  Porta 
del  Popolo  on  May  24,  18 14. 

He  was  dressed  in  full  pontifical  robes,  and  sat 
in  the  amazing  old  Spanish  gala  coach  in  which 
Charles  IV  of  Spain  had  entered  Rome  as  a 
refugee  (and  pensioner  of  Napoleon)  two  years 
earlier,  a  conveyance  of  which  the  Romans  had 
never  seen  the  like  for  massive  gorgeousness. 
Before  the  Pope's  cortege  had  reached  the  gate  a 
crowd  of  young  nobles  flung  themselves  upon  the 
carriage,  took  out  the  horses,  and  dragged  it  them- 
selves to  St.  Peter's  through  streets  where  the 
crowds,  weeping  and  shouting  for  joy,  prostrated 
themselves  at  every  step  to  receive  the  Sovereign's 
blessing.  Windows,  balconies,  roofs,  every  point 
where  standing  room  could  be  obtained  swarmed 
with  human  beings  ;  every  window  was  hung  with 
bright  draperies  ;  the  air  was  a  cloud  of  waving 
handkerchiefs  and  showers  of  flowers.  For  once 
St.  Peter's  was  full  to  danger  point.  The  French 
historian  *  says  :  '*  The  flood  of  humanity,  beating 
against  the  enormous  walls  of  the  Basilica,  resembled 
a  great  sea,  long  held  back  by  an  invincible  dyke, 
and  now  suddenly  dashing  through.  The  dyke 
had  been  built  by  the  frail  hands  of  this  aged 
*  Madelin. 


PIUS-  VII. 

Prom  the  Statue  by  Antonio  Canova. 
Engraved  by  Balestra,  after  a  painting  by  Camucinl. 


PIUS  VII   RETURNS  TO  ROME         313 

man,  who  now  broke  it  down  ;  Pius  VII  had  said, 
'  Anathema  on  whomsoever  shall  take  part  in  the  work 
of  the  French.'  'Romalocutus  est' — and  the  Romans, 
in  their  strange,  silent  way,  which  seemed  so  supine 
and  inefficient  to  onlookers,  had  obeyed  to  the 
letter,  and,  by  their  dumb  obedience,  had  paralysed 
all  the  efforts  of  the  conqueror  of  Europe. 

"  Now  they  were  dumb  no  longer ;  sorrow  is 
silent,  but  joy  loves  to  rend  the  skies.  The  day 
and  those  that  followed  were  one  long  festival  in 
the  city.  The  Pope  entering  the  Quirinal,  and 
beholding  all  the  sumptuous  preparations  (in  true 
first-Empire  taste)  for  its  occupation  by  the 
*  King  of  Rome  '  and  his  imperial  mother,  merely 
remarked,  with  an  amused  smile,  *Ah,  they  were 
not  expecting  us  !  We  can  replace  their  gods  and 
goddesses  with  saints,  and  every  one  will  have  had 
his  way  ! '  " 

If  he  could  laugh,  others  could,  too,  and  Rome 
was  itself  again  ! 


Among  the  first  to  throw  themselves  at  their 
Sovereign's  feet  was  Giovanni  Patrizi.  The  Holy 
Father  recognised  him  at  once,  and  embraced  him 
tenderly.  In  a  private  audience  granted  to  the 
whole  family  a  few  days  later  the  Pope  expressed 
his  desire  to  give  the  Marchese  a  public  proof  of 
his  favour  ;  but  Patrizi  deprecated  all  recognition, 


3X4  THE  PATRIZI  MEMOIRS 

saying  that  he  did  not  wish  to  hear  the  word 
"  merit,"  and  far  less  to  receive  rewards  for  having 
done  what  was  purely  his  duty. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  ensuing  September  Pius  VII 
named  him  Senator  of  Rome,  the  highest  civic 
dignity,  corresponding,  though  with  far  greater 
power  and  distinction,  to  the  office  of  Prefect.  In 
doing  this  the  Pope  departed  from  the  invariable 
law  hitherto  observed  which  forbade  that  the  Romans 
should  be  governed  by  one  of  their  own  fellow- 
citizens.  But  every  one  concurred  in  the  justice 
of  the  nomination,  for  Patrizi  was  the  only  noble 
who  had  publicly  and  consistently  proclaimed  his 
allegiance  to  his  rightful  sovereign.  He  made  his 
state  entrance  into  the  Capitol  on  January  i,  1815, 
and  was  the  last  Senator  who  did  so  with  all  the 
antique  pomps  of  procession  and  cavalcade. 

In  the  two  years  that  elapsed  before  his  death 
he  devoted  himself  with  his  whole  heart  to  the 
great  duties  of  his  position,  sparing  no  efforts  to 
maintain  order,  salubrity,  and  decorum  in  the 
beloved  city  committed  to  his  care.  But,  side  by 
side  with  this  public  life  of  pomp  and  place,  he 
was  leading  in  the  privacy  of  his  home  a  life  of 
constant  detachment,  all-embracing  charity,  self- 
denial,  and  prayer.  His  long  imprisonment,  its 
sorrows  and  anxieties,  as  well  as  the  many  months 
during  which  he  had  been  forbidden  fresh  air  and 
exercise,  all  these  things  had  seriously  undermined 
his   health    and    brought   on    the    cardiac    affection 


DEATH   OF   PATRIZI  315 

which  ended  his  life  almost  before  he  had  reached 
his  prime.  But  to  Giovanni  Patrizi  the  solitude  of 
his  prison  had  brought  a  great  flood  of  inner  light ; 
the  reward  of  his  simple,  unquestioning  loyalty  to 
duty  had  been  for  this  true  Paladin  the  revelation 
of  things  unseen.  While  scrupulously  fulfilling  his 
great  public  responsibilities  and  continuing  in  his 
home  to  be  the  most  loving  son  and  husband  and 
father,  the  eyes  of  his  soul  were  fixed  on  the  distant 
bourne,  and  he  approached  it  gladly  and  readily,  as 
a  child  turns  to  its  home. 

All  the  love  and  care  by  which  he  was  surrounded 
could  not  delay  the  end.  On  January  i,  18 17,  he 
found  that  he  could  no  longer  rise  from  his  bed. 
With  all  his  dear  ones  kneeling  around  him  he 
received  the  last  Sacraments  of  the  Church  he  had 
loved  so  faithfully.  On  the  8th  he  passed  away, 
serene  and  conscious,  breathing  his  Saviour's  words, 
"  Lord,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 

They  buried  him  in  the  Patrizi  chapel  in  Santa 
Maria  Maggiore,  beside  his  father.  Cunegonda 
was  laid  there  with  them  in  1828.  The  two  older 
boys  had  already  heard  and  obeyed  the  call  to  Per- 
fection ;  and  the  youngest,  as  has  been  said,  remained 
in  the  world  to  follow  in  his  father's  footsteps  and 
raise  up  many  sons  to  honour  his  name. 


TRANSLATOR'S   NOTE 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  those  incapable  of  estimating 
the  man  and  his  extraordinary  qualities  have  seen 
fit  to  cast  aspersions  upon  the  high  intelligence  and 
clearsightedness  of  Giovanni  Patrizi,  the  compiler  of 
these  Memoirs,  the  Marchesa  Maddelena  Patrizi  has 
judged  it  as  well  to  append  to  her  work  a  just  and 
conclusive  appreciation  of  him  from  the  "  Memoirs 
of  Cardinal  Pacca."  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Cardinal  Pacca  was  for  a  long  time  the  Marchese's 
fellow-prisoner.  The  terms  in  which  he  speaks  of 
him  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  high  consideration 
with  which  Patrizi  was  regarded  by  the  most 
thoughtful  and  distinguished  men  of  his  day.  We 
reproduce  the  extract  word  for  word. 

"  The  year  1 8 1 1  closed  with  the  arrival  at 
Fenestrelle  of  a  prisoner  worthy  of  particular 
mention.  This  was  the  Marchese  Giovanni  Naro 
Patrizi  ;  he  arrived  on  the  28  th  of  December,  the 
day  on  which  the  Church  celebrates  the  Slaughter 
of  the  Holy  Innocents.  He  had  earned  his  sentence 
by  refusing  to  consign  his  sons  to  the  French 
Government,  which  insisted  on  educating  them  in 
one    of    the    French    Colleges,    a    possibility    which 

317 


3i8  TRANSLATOR'S  NOTE 

Patrizi  regarded  as  a  far  worse  fate  than  death  for 
them — the  destruction  of  their  innocence  and  re- 
ligious faith.  I  had  often  seen  him  in  Rome,  but 
had  never  conversed  with  him.  This  young  Cavalier 
had  no  taste  for  noisy  entertainments  and  the  gay 
society  of  fashionable  people  ;  he  was  constantly 
seen  in  the  churches,  and  gave  much  edification  by 
assisting,  in  the  habit  of  the  brotherhood,  at  the 
religious  functions  of  the  Confraternities  of  which 
he  was  a  member.  This  was  enough  to  cause  him 
to  be  looked  down  upon,  laughed  at,  and  generally 
regarded  as  a  man  of  limited  intelligence,  dull,  and 
more  fitted  for  the  cloister  than  the  world.  The 
occupation  of  Rome  by  the  French,  and  the  change 
of  government,  demonstrated  how  mistaken  was 
this  opinion  of  his  character. 

"  While  other  gentlemen  of  the  first  nobility, 
either  through  base  cowardice,  or  the  even  lower 
motive  of  personal  interest,  made  efforts  to  obtain 
employments  and  appointments  from  the  usurping 
Government,  and  crawled  to  the  feet  of  General 
Miollis  and  the  other  French  Ministers,  Patrizi 
preserved  intact  the  rare  and  exalted  sentiments  of 
a  true  Roman  noble.  Of  these  he  gave  brilliant 
proof  when  it  was  intimated  to  various  parents  that 
the  Emperor  required  them  to  give  up  their  children 
to  the  authorities  to  be  educated  in  the  schools  and 
colleges  of  France.  Patrizi  instantly  understood, 
and  was  revolted  at  the  perfidious  motive  of  this 
pretended  paternal  solicitude,  and,  rather  than  con- 


TRANSLATOR'S  NOTE  319 

sign  his  own  sons  to  the  new  Moloch  Idol,  exposed 
himself  to  the  indignation  and  fury  of  Napoleon, 
who  had  him  arrested  and  kept  prisoner,  first  at 
Civita  Vecchia,  and  then  at  Fenestrelle. 

"  As  the  extreme  rigour  which  had  been  exercised 
towards  me  in  the  first  years  of  my  imprisonment 
was  then  somewhat  relaxed,  and  some  of  the  other 
prisoners  were  allowed  to  come  to  my  room  and 
keep  me  company,  I  had  full  opportunity  for 
knowing  Patrizi  well  and  forming  my  judgment 
on  him.  1  can  therefore  say  emphatically  that  he 
appeared  to  me  a  man  well  gifted  with  culture 
and  erudition,  and,  further,  one  possessed  of  such 
principles  of  piety  and  religion  that  he  was  the 
edification  of  his  fellow-prisoners." 


INDEX 


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iK  tt?»  )«» 

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38a 


INDEX 


Cenis,  Mont,  203  et  sq. 
ChamMry,  202  et  sq.,  216 
Charlemagne.  5,  53 
Charles  III  of  Spain,  278 
Charles  IV  of  Spain,  193 
Charles  X  of  France,  307,  309 
Chateaubriand,  276 
Chiara  Spinelli,  Contessina.    See 

Xavier 
Chigi    Giulia    (afterwards    2nd 

wife  of  Filippo  Patrizi),  303 
Chigi,  Marchesa,  177,  182,  187-8 
Chiuchiulini,    Signer    Giacomo, 

159 
Civita  Vecchia,  6,  95  et  sq.,  128- 

9,  135  et  sq..  162,  174 
Palazzo  Montoro,  103,  105- 

6,  108,  126 
Collia,  Brigadier,  118,  1^0 
ColHcola,  Signer  Carlo,  93,  96-7 
*•  Concordat,"  2,  5,  24,  52,  247 

et  sq. 
Consalvi,    Cardinal,   46,   250-1, 

294 
"  Consulta,"  17  et  sq. 
Corsica,  196 

Corsini,  Don  Neri,  232-3 
Corsini,  Prince Tommaso,  75,  232 
Crescentini,  175 
Custode,  Luigi,  152,  181 


Dall  Pozzo,  17,  19 

Danzer,  M.,   131,  161,   197,  213 

et  sq.,  219,  220 
David,  M.  Bernard,  134,  152,  180 
—  Madame,  134 
De  Filippi,  Captain,  91-2 
De  Rossi,  Canon,  130 
Descartes,  Rene,  17 
Desmarets  (Agent  of  Police),  180 
Di  Pietro,  Cardinal,  251,  253 
Doria,  Cardinal,  248 
Dugnani,  Cardinal,  248 
Durand,  26 
Duteil,  General,  238,  245 


Egidio,  Fra,  13 
Elba,  Isle  of,  285 


Ema,  Monastery  of,  22 
Esclignac,  Due  d',  39,  305-6 

—  Duchesse  d',  39,  269  et  sq. 

—  Ernest  d',  270-1 


Feltre,  Due  de,  67 

Fenestrelle,  1 17-18, 122, 128, 132 
etsq.,  140  etsq.,  i^o  etsq.,  196- 
7,  200,  205,  211  et  sq.,  222, 
227,  247,  261,  300,  319 

Ferdinand  IV  (King  of  Naples), 
54 

Ferrero,  Avvocato.  219 

Florence,  8,  16  et  sq.,  127,  177, 
187,  191-2,  201 

Fontainebleau,  248,  252,  308 

Fontane,  P6re,  247 

Fort,  Chancellor,  260-1 

Fouche,  Duke  of  Otranto,  Jo- 
seph, 23,  26-7 

Francis,  Emperor  of  Austria,  26, 
306-7,  309 

Fratini,  Canon,  196 

Frederick  Augustus  II  (King  of 
Poland),  35 

Frederick  Augustus  III  (King  of 
Saxony).  35,  37,  39 

Frederick  William  III  (King  of 
Prussia),  307 


Gabbi,  M.,  219 

Gabrielli,  Cardinal,  55 

—  Don  Pompeo,  280,  396-7 

Gaeta,  Duke  of,  124 

Gasparri,  113 

Gazan,  M.,  15 1-2,  180-1 

Gerando,  Baron  de,  17  ^/  sq.,  24  n. 

Gerard,  M.,  80 

Giorgi,  114,  117 

Giuliano,  Castel,  86 

Giustiniani,  Chevalier  Don  Lor- 
enzo, 74,  93,  138,  140-1,  148, 
151.  155  «^  sq.,  177,  201,  206, 
226,  231,  234,  268,  274,  278, 
280-1,  309 

Giusti  Tommato,  157,  173-4, 
182,  187-8,  194 

"  Golden  Levy,"  59,  60,  176,  302 


INDEX 


323 


Gregorio,  Monsignor  de,  247 

Gregory  XVI.  168 

Guglielmi,  Signer  Giulio,  105  ct 

sq.,  116,  125-6 
Guidi,  Abbe,  196 
Guillot,  39 


H 

Henri  IV.  5 

Henri  V  (Emperor),  252 
Henry  VIII  of  England,  252 
Herbin,  General,  8,  10,  54 
Hobbes,  Thomas,  17 
Hompesch,  Ferdinand  von,  167 


If,  Chateau  d',  211  ct  sq.,  226 
etsq.,  255,  259  et  sq. 


J 

Janet,  Baron,  16  et  sq. 

Jena,  Battle  of,  5 

Jolielen,  Madame,  221 

Joseph  of  Saxony,  Prince,  35  e/ 

sq.,  40 
Josephine,  Empress,  163,  174 
Julius  Gsesar,  224 


K 
Kant,  Immanuel,  17 


Lafa57ette  Marquis  de,  16 

La  Fleche,  Prytanee  de,  6^,  66, 
122,  144  et  sq.,  185,  209,  232 
et  sq.,  261,  266,  269,  270,  272 
et  sq. 

Lagorse,  Cardinal,  250,  253 

Lante,  Don  Giulio,  280 

Lante,  Pippo,  176,  185 

Lavaggi,  Marchese,  303 

Lehara,  Chevalier,  282-3 

Leipzig,  23-4 

Lemarrois,  General,  14,  17 

Leo  XII,  168 

Ligne,  Don  Joseph  de,  265 


Louis  XIV,  5 
Louis  XV,  5 
Louis  XVI,  14,  36,  296 
Louis  XVII,  38 

Louis   XVIII,   284,    287  et  sq., 
296,  304 

M 

Madelin,  M.  Louis,  61  n.,  131  n. 

Maghella,  25,  28-9,  31 

Mancini,  Canon,  201 

Marchisio,  Cardinal,  299 

Marengo,  2 

Mariano,  119,  137,  155 

Marie  Antoinette,  38 

Marini,  Monsignor,  231 

Marino,  Don,  256 

Marseilles,  213,  219  et  sq.,  284  et 

sq.,  305 
Martin,  M.,  234 
Massimo,    Marchesa,    138,    154, 

163 
Massimo,  Marchese,  48,  $8,  138, 

154 
Metastasio,  37 
Milan,   14,   183,   193,   195  et  sq., 

208 
Miollis,  General  Sextus  de,  7  ei 

sq.,  13  et  sq.,  54,  59,  65,  80,  87, 

96,  121  et  sq.,  318 
Montbreton  (Director  of  Police), 

178,  186 
Monterone,  99,  100 
Monticelli,  Rev.  Stephano,  93 
Moreau,  283 
Murat,  Joachim  (King of  Naples), 

12  et  sq.,  186 

N 

Naples,  King  of.     See  Ferdinand 

and  Bonaparte 
Naples,  6  et  sq.,  187,  189,  190 
Napoleon  : 

And  the   "  Concordat,"    i   et 

sq.,  52  et  sq.,  247  et  sq. 
Institutes  the  Golden  Levy, 

$8  et  sq. 
Summons  Xavier  and  Filippo 

to  La  Fleche,  66  et  sq. 
Petition  from  Giovanni  Patrizi 
to,  j6  et  sq. 


3H 


INDEX 


Napoleon  {continued) : 

Defied  by  Patrizi,  84  et  sq. 
Sequesters    the    Patrizi    re- 
venues, 121  et  sq.,  161,  186, 
246 
His  personal  hatred   to  the 
Patrizi  family,    178  et  sq., 
199,  210  et  sq.,  275 
His  abdication,  284  et  sq. 
Napoleon  III,  5,  303 
Naro,  Monsignor,  45,  125,  128 
National  Convention,  12 
Nesselrode.  Comte  de,  305 
Nicolai,  Abb6,  177 
Norvins,  161 
Notre  Dame,  53 

O 

Oblates  of  Tor  de'  Specchi,  Con- 
vent of,  4 1 
Occhiobello,  31 
Odescalchi,  Monsignor,  194 
—  Don  Mommo,  280 
Orville,  Senator,  185 


Pacca,  Cardinal,  1 1,  21-2, 46,  55, 
61  n.,  136,  166,  173,  177,  210, 
247,  250,  252,  255  et  sq,,  317 
et  sq. 

Palestrina,  Prince  and  Princess 
of,  191 

Parisani,  Signor,  93,   116,    140, 

151.  177 

Pascal  II,  252 

Paterson,  Elizabeth.  See  Bona- 
parte 

Patrizi,  Constantine,  48,  75,  119, 
140,  1 5 1-2,  178,  183-4,  302, 
313 

Patrizi,  Filippo,  48,  63,  66  et  sq., 
108  et  sq.,  119,  121  et  sq.,  140 
etsq.,  IS3  etsq.,  164  etsq.,  185, 
195  et  sq.,  219,  224  et  sq.,  245 
et  sq.,  268,  272  et  sq.,  293,  303, 
305.  309.  315  ;  Ws  diary,  157 
et  sq.,  234  et  sq. 

Patrizi,  Marchesa  Cunegonda  : 
Her  betrothal,  3  5 
Her  birth  and  parentage,  36 
et  sq. 


Patrizi,  Marchesa  Cunegonda 

(continued) : 

Her  early  life,  ^S  et  sq. 

Her  marriage,  41  et  sq. 

Birth  of  her  children,  48 

Her  grief  at  her  children  being 
summoned  to  La  Fl^che,  72 
et  sq. 

Encourages  her  husband  to  re- 
sist Napoleon's  commands, 
90 

Told  of  her  husband's  arrest, 

97 
First  letter  to  the  Marchese, 

107  et  sq. 
Ordered  to  escort  her  children 

to  La  Fl^che,  109  et  sq. 
And  her  husband's  removal  to 

Fenestrelle,  138  et  sq. 
Attempts  to  procure  her  hus- 
band's release,    138   et  sq., 

267  et  sq.,  230,  257 
Prepares  for  her  journey  to 

Paris,  141 
Receives     instructions     from 

her  husband  regarding  her 

journey,  144  et  sq. 
Describes  her  departure  from 

Rome,  1^2  et  sq. 
Describes  family  affairs,  163, 

174  et  sq.,  268  et  sq 
Her  stay  in  Siena  prolonged, 

164  et  sq. 
Her  correspondence  censored, 

178  et  sq.,  210  et  sq.,  223, 

228  et  sq.,  242  et  sq.,  259, 

260,  271 
Her  doings  in  Siena,  182,  186 

et  sq. 
On  Costantino,  184 
Leaves  Siena,  190 
Her    journey    to    Paris    de- 
scribed, igi  et  sq. 
Arrives  at  Turin,  196 
Futile   attempts   to   see   her 

husband,   196    et    sq.,    214, 

126 
Resumes  her  journey,  202  et 

sq. 
Arrives  in  Paris,  224 
Attempts  to  see  the  Due  de 

Rovigo,  228 


INDEX 


325 


Patrizi,  Marchesa  Cunegonda 

[continued)  : 
Describes  her  daily  life,  230 

et  sq.,  238,  268  et  sq. 
Her  children  ordered  to  La 

Fl^che,  232  ef  sq.,  239 
And  the  "  New  Concordat," 

247 
Letter  to  Cardinal  Pacca,  255- 

6,  258 
And  the  death  of  Marchese 

Francesco  Patrizi,  266 
Anxiety  about  her  children's 

health,  272-3 
Her  curious  dream,  274 
Her  love  of  reading,  276-7 
Her  sweet  disposition,  277-8 
Her  joy  at  reunion,  205,  304- 

5.  310 
Her  children  returned  to  her, 

292-3 
Starts  for  Italy,  309 
Her  death,  315 
Patrizi,  Marchesa  Porzia,  43  et 
sq.,  74,  78,  93,  97,   121,   128, 
141,  151,  153,  162,  223,  265-6, 

275.  301 
Patrizi,  Marchese,  Francesco,  43 
et  sq.,  58  et  sq.,  68  et  sq.,  78-9, 
84,  93,  97,  1 16-17,  119.  121  ef 
sq.,    140-1,    151,   223,    240-1, 
262  et  sq. 
Patrizi,  Marchese  Giovanni  Naro : 
Historical  introduction,  32-3 
His     betrothal     to     Princess 

Cunegonda  of  Saxony,   35 

et  sq. 
His  marriage,  44-5 
Birth  of  his  children,  48 
Invited  to  serve  in  the  Im- 
perial Guard  in  Paris,  59, 

60 
His  grief  at  the  summons  of 

his  sons  to  La  Fldche,  67  et 

sq. 
Petitions  Napoleon,  76  et  sq. 
Interview  with  Count  Tour- 

non,  80  et  sq. 
Definitely  refuses  to  allow  his 

sons  to  proceed  to  France, 

87  et  sq. 
His  arrest,  94  ef  sq. 


Patrizi,  Marchese  Giovanni  Naro 

(continued) : 

His  journey  to  Civita  Vecchia, 

97  et  sq. 
Impressions  of  his  new  dwell- 
ing-place, 102  et  sq. 
Cheered  by  the  arrival  of  new 

inmates,  112  ef  sq. 
Ordered  to  leave  Civita  Vec- 
chia, iiy  et  sq. 
Napoleon's  animosity  against, 

121  ef  sq.,  210  et  sq. 
Family  revenues  sequestered 

by    Napoleon,     121    et  sq., 

161 
His  journey  to  Fenestrelle  de- 
scribed, 125  ef  sq. 
Arrives  at  Fenestrelle,  134 
His  fellow  prisoners,  i$$  et  sq., 

196 
Prince   Altieri  intervenes   on 

his  behalf,  142  et  sq. 
His  characteristics,  146-7 
His  correspondence  tampered 

with,    178  et  sq.,  205,   223, 

242  et  sq.,  259,  271-2 
Compromised  by  a  letter,  207 

et  sq. 
Napoleon  orders  his  removal 

from  Fenestrelle,  211  ef  sq. 
Describes    his    journey    from 

Fenestrelle  to  Chateau  d'lf, 

216  ef  sq. 
His  ignorance  of  the  welfare  of 

his  wife  and  children,  223, 

228  et  sq. 
Vain  hopes  of  release,  246-7, 

254  et  sq.,  284 
His  father's  pathetic  letters  to, 

262  et  sq. 
His  father's  death,  266-7 
Allowed   to  celebrate  his 

mother's  birthday,  275 
His  liberation,  285  ef  sq. 
Celebrates  the  restoration  of 

Louis  XVIII,  286  et  sq. 
Describes  a  Masonic  festival, 

295-6 
His  journey  from  Marseilles  to 

Rome  described,  296  et  sq. 
Arrives  home,  301-2 
Future  of  his  sons,  302-3 


326 


INDEX 


Patriri,  Marchcsc  Giovanni  Naro 

{continued)  : 

Reunited    to   the    Marchesa, 

Private   audience   with    Pius 

VII.  313-14 

Honoured  by  Pius  VII,  314 
His  death,  3 1 5 

Translator's  note  on,   317  ct 
sq. 

Patrizi,  Maria  Agnese,  69,  30 1 

Patrizi,  Mariuccia,  140 

Patrizi,  Palazzo,  38 

Patrizi,  Xavier,  48,  63,  66  et  sq., 
108  et  sq.,  119,  121  et  sq.,  140 
<?<5^.,  I53«' 5?..  163^/5^.,  178, 
185  et  sq..  195  et  sq.,  219,  224 
et  sq.,  245  et  sq.,  268,  274  et  sq., 

293.  302.  305.  309.  315 
Paul  I  of  Russia,  167 
Pelucchi,  Signor,  89,  90 
Pepe,  Commissary,  154 
Pepe,  General,  17,  109  et  sq.,  154 
Pemon,  221 
Pesme,  Monsieur,  225 
Pez,  Maestro,  175 
Pichegru,  General,  283 
Pignatelli,  Cardinal,  251,  299 
Pignatelli,  Prince,  21,  30 
PigneroUe,  207 
Pius  VII,  3  et  sq.,  31,  52  ct  sq., 

85,  136,  160,  203,  246  et  sq., 

3 10  et  sq. 
Pius  IX,  57,  302 
Poland,  King  of.     See  Frederick 
PoUastri,  157,  174 
Pont-sur-Seine,  224-5 


Racine,  259 

Radet,   General,    17,   20-1,   30, 

56-7 
Riario,  Duca,  48 
Ricci,  Don  Girolamo,  300 
Rochelle,  M.,  282 
Roederer  (French  Prefect),  63  et 

sq.,  78,  232  et  sq.,  238 
RoUa,  Signor,  2175/  sq. 
Rome  : 

Appian  Way,  15 

Campagna,  7,  23 


Rome  {continued)]: 

Palazzo  della  Consulta,  35,  44 

et  sq. 
Palazzo  Doria,  29,  30,  96 
Palazzo  Farnese,  15,  17,  25,  29, 

30 
Piazza  di  Spagna,  16,  24,  28, 

30 
Porta  d'Anzio,  25 
Porta  Pia,  22 
Porta    del    Popolo,    16,   301, 

312 
Porta  San  Giovanni,  15,  21 
Quirinal  Palace,  7,  8,  11,  22, 

54.  313 
Sant' Angelo,  29,  30,  54-5,  94, 

97.  113.  177 

St.  Maria  Maggiore,  3 1 5 

St.  Philip  Neri,  44 
RospigUoso,  58 
Rousillon,  Major,  283 
Rovigo,  Due  de,  60,  62,  78  et  sq., 

S7,gi,  logetsq. ,14s,  154,165, 

180,  199,  210  et  sq.,  218  et  sq., 

223,  227-8,  232,  244,  246 
Rufifo,  Cardinal,  248,  300 
Ruspoli,  Bailli  (Grand  Master  of 

Malta),  167  et  sq.,  194,  240-1, 

269,  270,  300 
Ruspoli,  Don  Camillo,  280 


St.  Cloud.  124.  186 

Sala,    Abbe    Domenico,    134-5, 

143 
Salicetti,  Count.  12  et  sq.,  18,  20, 

22 
Santo  Spirito,  Arch-hospital  of, 

125-6 
Sasso,  Castel,  86 
Saxony,  Princess  Cunegonda  of. 

See  Patrizi,  Marchesa 

—  Princes     of.       See     Xavier, 
Joseph 

—  King  of.     See  Frederick 

—  Queen  of,  39 

Scotti,    Count    Francesco,    194, 

207  et  sq. 
Serrey,  Bishop  of,  158 
Siena,  48  et  sq.,  123,  126-7,  iSo 

etsq.,  155,  161  etsq.,  174,  180 

et  sq.,  195,  300 


INDEX 


327 


Somunaglia,  Giovanna  dei  Conti 
(ist  wife  of  Filippo  Patrizi), 

303 
Spada,  Alessandro,  176 

—  Benedetto,  192 

—  Clementino,  192 

—  Donna  Prudenzia,  130,  300 


Thibeaudeau,  Count,  260 
Tournon,  Count  de,  24-5,  61-2, 

64,  80  et  sq. 
Troyes,  39 
Turin,  118  <?^  sq.,  130  et  sq.,  139, 

150-1,    155,    181,    194  et  sq., 

213  et  sq.,  297 
Tuscany,  Elisa  Baciocchi,  Grand 

Duchess  of,  182-3 


Vandouvre,  M.  de,  281 
Vaudal,  2 

Vauguyon,  Comte  de,  28,  30 
Venere,  Don  Giuseppe,  290,  295 

et  sq.,  301 
Versailles,  235 
Viscardi,  C,  177 
Viterbo,  96,  125-6,  129,  158-9 


Xavier  of  Saxony,  Prince,  35  «/ 

sq.,  47,  224,  270,  294 
Xavier  of  Saxony,  Princess,  37, 

et  sq.,  294 

Z 

Zondadari,    Very    Rev.    Arch- 
bishop, 127,  166,  187,  300 
Zuccari,  20  et  sq. 


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